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THE  GIFT  OF 

FLORENCE  V.  V.  DICKEY 

TO  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


THE  DONALD  R.  DICKEY 

LIBRARY 
OF  VERTEBRATE  ZOOLOGY 


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West  Virginia  Department  of  Agriculture 

BULLETIN 

Published  by  the  West  Virginia  Department  of  Agriculture, 
Charleston,  W.  Va. 

MARCH  1916  NUMBER   15 


The  Food  of  West  Virginia  Birds 


By 
Earle  A.  Brooks. 


HOWARD  E.  WILLIAMS 
Commissioner. 


Entered  as  Second  Class  matter  September  17,  1915,  at  the  Post  Office, 
at  Charleston,  W.  Va.,  under  the  Act  of  Congress,  June  6,  1900. 


CEDAR    WAXW1NG 

(One-half  natural  size) 

Order— PASSERES  Family— BOM  BVCILLI 

Genus— BOM  BYCILLA  Species— CEDRORUM 

National  Association  of  Audubon  Societies 


THE  FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA 
BIRDS. 


By 
Earle  A.  Brooks. 


A    STUDY    IN    THE    ECONOMIC    VALUE    OF    THE    BIRDS   OF    WEST 

VIRGINIA,    WITH    SUGGESTIONS    IN    REGARD    TO    THE 

PROTECTION  OF  OUR  MOST  USEFUL  SPECIES 


Published  by  Hon.  Howard  E.  Williams, 
State  Commissioner  of  Agriculture. 


Charleston,  West  Virginia. 
1916 


TRIBUNE  PTO.  CO.,  CHARLESTON,  ¥ 


QL 


INTRODUCTION 

Purpose. 

This  bulletin  on  "The  Food  of  West  Virginia  Birds"  is  published 
for  the  purpose  of  giving  information  concerning  the  feeding  habits  of 
these  feathered  friends  of  ours,  to  the  fruit-grower,  the  grain-producer, 
the  school  children  of  our  State,  the  owners  of  tracts  of  woodland  and 
to  all  who  depend  for  their  daily  bread  upon  the  products  of  the  soil. 
This  bulletin  is  not  a  treatise  on  economic  ornithology,  but  is  a  brief 
study  in  some  of  the  relationships  which  our  birds  sustain  to  the  wild 
and  cultivated  fruits,  the  vegetables  and  grains  and  grasses,  the  weeds 
and  insects  that  have  become  our  enemies,  and  the  trees  and  lumber 
products,  and  has  to  do  with  some  of  the  most  vital  questions  that  come 
before  our  agricultural  communities.  All  these  facts  in  regard  to  the 
food  of  our  birds  are  given  here  with  the  hope  that  those  who  read  may 
really  know  how  much  good  our  birds  are  doing  and  how  carefully 
they  should  be  protected. 

The  Need. 

All  who  have  noted  the  decrease  in  the  numbers  of  our  birds,  the 
increase  in  the  number  of  harmful  insects,  the  exceeding  great  diffi- 
culties that  must  be  met  by  those  who  raise  grains,  fruits  or  vege- 
tables, and  the  attendant  high  cost  of  living  know  that  there  is  need 
for  the  protection  of  birds.  The  scarcity  of  birds  permits  the  multi- 
plication of  insects  and  the  growth  of  weeds;  these  growing  weeds 
hinder  the  farmer's  crops  and  cause  him  endless  labor,  while  the 
ever-increasing  hordes  of  noxious  insects  devour  roots,  stalks,  leaves, 
flowers,  fruits  and  seeds  that  are  produced  in  his  fields;  these  great 
difficulties  that  lessen  the  production  on  all  our  farms  add  to  the  cost 
of  all  farm  and  forest  products;  prices  are  then  much  higher,  and 
we  all  suffer  in  consequence.  There  is  a  great  need  for  the  diffusion  of 
knowledge  concerning  our  useful  birds  and  a  greater  need  that  such 
protective  measures  be  adopted  that  the  birds  may  once  more  increase 
and  take  their  place  in  the  plans-  of  nature. 

Preparation. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  bulletin  much  original  work  has  been 
done,  as  the  writer  has  been  gathering  data  concerning  the  food  of 


567216 


birds  during  a  number  of  years.  Much  time  has  been  spent  in  the 
field.  With  the  generous  help  of  others  many  facts  concerning  the 
food  and  food-habits  of  birds  have  been  gathered  together.  Many 
papers  and  books  have  been  read  in  order  that  the  very  latest  and  most 
dependable  knowledge  concerning  all  our  birds  might  be  gathered  and 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  our  readers.  Extended  studies  have  been 
made  in  the  relationship  of  birds  to  our  wild  and  cultivated  fruits. 

Acknowledgments. 

I  wish  to  make  grateful  acknowledgment  to  those  who  have  helped 
me-  in  the  work  that  is  set  forth  in  these  pages.  To  Hon.  Howard  E. 
Williams,  State  Commissioner  of  Agriculture,  I  am  especially  thankful 
for  making  possible  the  publication  of  this  bulletin ;  to  Orr  R.  King, 
who  has  assisted  in  many  ways  in  the  field  and  office  work,  and  to 
Charles  Handley  and  Maurice  Brooks,  who  have  contributed  many 
useful  notes,  I  am  under  great  obligation.  Forbush's  "Useful  Birds 
and  Their  Protection,"  Hornaday's  "Wild  Life  Conservation  in 
Theory  and  Practice,"  Weed  and  Dearborn's  "Birds  in  Their  Relation 
to  Man,"  and  many  bulletins  published  by  the  Biological  Survey  of  the 
U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  have  been  consulted  freely.  These 
have  been  of  inestimable  value  in  the  gathering  of  the  facts  presented 
here.  To  the  writers  of  these  books  and  papers,  who  have  made 
economic  ornithology  a  life-long  study,  all  should  be  most  grateful. 

The  End  Sought. 

I  most  earnestly  hope  that  this  bulletin  may  fill  the  place  for  which 
it  is  intended.  There  is  need  for  a  simple  and  readable  work  of  refer- 
ence on  the  food  of  our  birds,  such  a  work  as  all  may  be  able  to  under- 
stand and  to  use.  As  this  publication  goes  forth  to  the  school  children, 
farmers  and  to  all  who  are  interested  in  studies  of  this  kind,  it  may 
fill,  in  a  measure  this  need.  This,  at  least,  is  the  purpose  I  have  had  in 
mind  in  its  preparation. 

For  the  privilege  of  using  the  colored  plates  to  be  found  in  this 
bulletin  I  am  under  obligation  to  the  National  Association  of  Audubon 
Societies.  Cuts  Nos.  ?,  8,  9,  12,  22  and  23  are  used  by  courtesy  of  the 
Massachusetts  State  Board  of  Agriculture. 

EARLE  A.  BROOKS. 

Weston,  West  Virginia 
March  1,  1916. 


Photo   by   E.   H.   Forbush 

CONTENTS  OF  CROP  OF  A  BOBWHITE. 

This  bird  was   killed  by  a   mowing  machine.     The   crop   contained   46 
Colorado   Potato    Bettles    and    250    weed   seeds. 


CONTENTS. 


Introduction: 

Chapter  I.     Our  West  Virginia  Birds 

Numbers — Variety — Work  Done — The  Plan  of  Bulletin. 

Chapter  II.     Economic  Ornithology 

Definition — Kinds  of  Food — Birds  in  Relation  to  Trees 
and  Forests — Birds  and  Fruit — Birds  and  Grain — Birds 
and  Vegetables — Birds  and  Weed  Seeds — Insect  Food  of 
Birds — Carnivorous  Birds — Scavengers — Water  Birds — Re- 
lationships to  Human  Life. 

Chapter  III.     The  Protection  of  Useful  Birds 

Why? — Campaign  of  Education — Protective  Societies — 
Special  Means  of  Protection — Protective  Laws — Propaga- 
tion of  Useful  Species — Provide  Nesting  Sites — Destroying 
Harmful  Species. 

Chapter  IV.     Hawks,  Owls  and  Vultures 

Birds  of  Prey — 'The  Vultures — The  Hawks  and  Eagles — 
Owls. 

Chapter  V.     Bobwhite,  Grouse  and  Wild  Turkey 

Game  Birds — Bobwhite— Ruffed  Grouse — Wild  Turkey. 

Chapter  VI.     The  Woodpeckers 

Woodpecker  Characteristics — Downy  and  Hairy — Yellow- 
bellied  Sapsucker — Red-headed  Woodpecker — The  Flicker. 

Chapter  VII.     Nighthawks,  Swifts  and  Flycatchers 

Some  Aerial  Species — Goatsuckers — Chimney  Swift — Fly- 
catchers. 

Chapter  VIII.     Blackbirds  and  Sparrows. 

General  Characteristics — Blackbirds — Bobolink — Meadow- 
lark — Orioles — The  Sparrows — Food  of  Sparrows. 

Chapter  IX.     Tanagers,  Swallows,  Waxwings  and  Vireos 

Families  Described — The  Tanagers — Swallows — Cedar  Bird 
—Vireos. 

Chapter  X.     The  Warblers 

Thirty-six  Species — Systematic  Workers — Yellow  Warbler 
— Cape  May  Warbler — Black-throated  Green  Warbler — 
Myrtle  Warbler — General  Notes. 

Chapter  XI.     Thrashers,  Wrens,  Kinglets,  Nuthatches  and  Titmice 

A  Complex  Group — Mockingbird,  Catbird  and  Thrasher — • 
Wrens — Nuthatches — Titmice — Gnatcatcher  and  Kinglets — 
Special  Value. 

Chapter  XII.     The  Thrushes 

Family  Characteristics — List  of  Species — Their  Food — 
Wood  Thrush— Food  of  Wood  Thrush— The  Robin— Food 
of  Robin — Summary. 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIBGINIA  BIBDS 


CHAPTER  I. 
OUR   WEST   VIRGINIA    BIRDS. 

Before  taking  up  the  study  of  the  food  of  our  birds  we  should  know 
something  of  the  numbers  and  the  great  variety  of  species  which  we 
have  in  West  Virginia.  Before  one  can  decide  concerning  the  status 
of  the  Kingbird  and  its  relations  to  the  honey  bees,  which  it  sometimes 
destroys,  this  species  must  be  known  and  separated  from  the  great 
number  of  other  birds  of  about  the  same  size  and  color;  before  the 
Cooper's  Hawk  is  condemned  as  a  ruthless  destroyer  of  our  chickens, 
the  farmer  should  be  able  to  distinguish  this  beautiful,  swift-flying 
species  from  other  Hawks;  before  our  children  are  encouraged  to  kill 
off  all  the  English  Sparrows  and  to  rob  their  nests,  they  must  be  able 
to  distinguish  them  from  the  large  number  of  useful  native  American 
sparrows  that  differ  very  little  from  this  alien  pest;  and  before  one  can 
determine  the  usefulness  or  the  harmfulness  of  any  species  he  must 
be  able  to  identify  it  and  to  distinguish  it  unquestionably  from  other 
birds  that  may  be  similar  in  size,  color  and  form  but  very  different  in 
habits.  A  knowledge  of  our  West  Virginia  birds  is  very  necessary  to 
those  who  would  know  their  real  relationships  to  the  "grass  of  the 
field,"  the  vegetables,  fruits  and  grains. 

Numbers. 

We  have  in  West  Virginia  about  two  hundred  and  sixty  different  kinds 
of  birds.  Many  states  have  a  larger  avi-fauna  than  this.  The  number 
of  our  species  is  somewhat  limited  because  of  the  fact  that  we  have  no 
sea-shore  no  lakes  and  few  marshes.  This  accounts  for  the  rarity  of 
some  of  our  water-fowl  and  the  absence  of  others.  If  we  had  even  a 
few  large  lakes  or  a  few  miles  of  sea  coast,  our  list  of  species  would 
be  much  greater.  However,  the  hills  are  a  favorite  resort  for  many  of 
our  more  useful  species  and  we  have  these  in  great  abundance.  Such 
families  of  birds  as  the  Sparrows,  Flycatchers,  Vireos  and  Warblers 
are  represented  by  great  numbers  of  species.  Of  these  grayish-green 
birds  known  as  the  Vireos  or  "Greenlets"  we  have  seven  species  all  dif- 
fering but  slightly  in  size  and  color.  There  are  nine  species  of  Fly- 
catchers. Thrushes  are  present  in  good  numbers.  Of  the  Sparrows  we 
have  thirty  different  native  species  and  these,  at  least  many  of  them,  do 
not  vary  greatly  in  size,  color  nor  form.  Our  largest  family  of  small 
woodland  birds  is  the  family  of  Wrarblers  which  consists  of  thirty-six 
species.  These  are  most  beautiful  in  color  and  many  of  them  are  ex- 
ceedingly rare,  some  being  seen  only  once  or  twice  in  the  life-time  of 
an  observer.  Though  the  number  of  species  is  almost  as  great  as  it 
has  been  for  many  years,  the  number  of  individuals  is  far  less.  This 
decrease  has  been  caused  by  the  wanton  destruction  of  millions  of  birds. 
In  one  of  Dr.  Hornaday's  chapters  (Wild  Life  Conservation  in  Theory 
and  Practice)  he  says,  "The  appalling  destruction  of  wild  life  that  for 
forty  years  we  have  been  witnessing  on  every  hand  is  chargeable  to 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS 


greed,  slothfulness  and  ignorance.  The  same  low  order  of  intelligence 
that  denuded  China  of  her  forests,  and  turned  her  hillsides  into  gullied 
barrenness,  has  swept  away  fully  95  per  cent,  of  the  birds  and  mammals 
of  America  that  were  most  useful  to  man."  Still  we  have  birds  in  great 
numbers  in  field,  forest  and  swamp;  among  the  hills,  along  our  rivers 
and  high  up  in  the  mountains;  in  winter,  spring,  summer  and  fall; 
and  in  every  possible  condition  of  environment.  Though  not  quite  so 
numerous  in  species  as  formerly  and  far  fewer  in  numbers  of  individuals, 
birds  are  still  common,  and  one  does  not  need  to  go  far  in  any  place  in 
West  Virginia  to  find  a  number  of  interesting  things  take  place  in  the 
bird  world.  With  careful  protection  the  numbers  of  our  useful  birds 
may  be  far  greater  within  the  coming  years. 

Variety. 

Our  birds  are  found  in  great  variety  as  well  as  in  great  numbers.  In 
the  first  place  they  vary  in  size.  Among  our  small  birds  are  to  be 
numbered  the  Ruby-throated  Hummingbird,  the  Blue-gray  Gnat-catcher 
and  the  Golden-crested  and  Ruby-crowned  Kinglets;  while  among  our 
large  birds  we  have  the  Eagles,  the  Turkey  Vulture,  the  Great  Blue  Heron 
and  the  Wild  Turkey.  Some  are  scarcely  larger  than  a  bumble  bee, 
while  others  are  almost  as  tall  as  a  man  and  have  great  extent  of  wing. 
In  the  second  place,  our  birds  differ  in  form  and  color.  The  Ruffed 
Grouse,  Wild  Turkey  and  Bobwhite  are  compact  in  form,  but  the  Herons 
and  Bitterns  are  loose-jointed  and  awkward;  the  Swallows  and  Terns 
are  most  graceful  in  flight,  but  other  species  fly  with  great  difficulty; 
some  are  tall,  others  are  low;  some  are  brilliantly  colored,  others  are 
brown  and  obscure;  the  Snowy  Owl,  the  Snowflake  and  some  of  the 
Herons  are  white,  while  the  Blackbirds,  the  Crows  and  the  Raven  are 
black;  among  the  Warblers  there  are  creatures  so  exquisitely  colored 
that  one  doubts  the  statement  sometimes  made  that  tropical  species  are 
more  gorgeously  colored  than  those  of  temperate  regions,  while  some 
of  the  Sparrows,  the  Vireos  and  Flycatchers  are  as  modest  as  a  quaker 
in  their  attire.  In  quality  of  song  there  is  also  much  difference  among 
our  birds.  Among  those  that  have  no  song  may  be  listed  the  Cedar  Bird, 
the  Ruby-throated  Hummingbird  and  several  of  the  Flycatchers.  Our 
best  songsters  are  the  Wood  Thrush,  the  Veery,  Robin,  Bluebird,  Louisi- 
ana Water-Thrush,  Bachman's  Sparrow,  Vesper  Sparrow,  Song  Sparrow, 
Winter  Wren,  Cardinal,  Carolina  Wren,  Mockingbird,  Brown  Thrasher, 
Catbird,  Fox  Sparrow,  Field  Sparrow,  Rose-breasted  Grosbeak,  Warbling 
Vireo,  Solitary  Vireo,  Cairn's  Warbler,  Baltimore  Oriole,  Orchard  Oriole, 
Bobolink,  Red-winged  Blackbird  and  others  of  slightly  less  musical 
ability.  Our  study  of  the  food-habits  of  birds  will  convince  us,  also, 
that  birds  are  not  all  alike  in  their  habits  nor  in  their  usefulness.  Some 
are  very  useful,  others  are  of  questionable  status,  while  a  few  are  posi- 
tively harmful.  The  endless  variety  in  our  birds  makes  them  interesting, 
and  calls  for  a  careful  study  of  each  species. 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS 


Work    Done. 

Thus  far,  in  the  research  work  that  has  been  done  in  West  Virginia, 
comparatively  little  attention  has  been  given  to  the  birds.  Some  persons 
have  given  much  time  and  many  have  given  a  little  time  to  this  profitable 
study.  The  great  naturalists  Audubon  and  Wilson  did  a  little  work  in 
the  territory  that  is  now  included  in  West  Virginia,  about  one  hundred 
years  ago.  At  a  later  date,  about  fifty  years  ago,  such  eminent  naturalists 
as  W.  E.  D.  Scott,  William  Brewster,  Ruthven  Deane,  and  Ernest  E. 
Ingersoll  worked  within  our  State  for  a  very  short  time,  and  left  us 
some  valuable  notes.  In  more  recent  years  Dr.  Wm.  C.  Rives,  Rev.  W.  E. 
Hill,  Rev.  C.  Eifrig,  Thaddeus  Surber,  Wm.  D.  Doan,  J.  Warren  Jacobs, 
A.  Sidney  Morgan,  Thomas  A.  Morgan,  T.  Z.  Atkeson,  A.  B.  Brooks, 
Fred  E.  Brooks,  Garrett  Campbell,  Charles  Handley,  Miss  Eva  Fling, 
Harold  Roush,  and  E.  R.  Grose  have  contributed  to  our  knowledge  of 
bird  life.  Others,  also,  have  done  their  part,  but  there  yet  remains 
much  to  be  done.  Vast  portions  of  the  State  have  never  been  visited 
by  any  naturalist,  and  many  inviting  fields  are  yet  to  be  visited.  Of 
those  who  have  gathered  data  concerning  West  Virginia  birds  few  have 
studied  their  food-habits.  This  is,  therefore,  a  comparatively  new  sub- 
ject to  be  considered. 

The   Plan. 

In  making  the  plan  for  this  bulletin  the  writer  has  thought  it  well 
to  study  the  birds  by  groups  and  families.  After  the  three  introductory 
chapters,  these  various  families  and  groups  of  birds  are  taken  up  in  a 
systematic  way.  Should  any  one  care  to  know  something  of  the  habits 
and  economic  status  of  the  Hawks,  Sparrows,  Thrushes,  or  any  other 
group  of  birds,  he  has  but  to  turn  to  the  chapter  in  which  these  species 
are  discussed.  There  he  will  find  certain  facts  for  his  guidance  in  the 
study  of  these  species.  Thus  the  whole  economy  of  our  West  Virginia 
bird  life  may  be  studied  and  conclusions  may  be  drawn  by  those  who 
really  care  to  know  how  great  a  part  the  birds  play  in  the  life  of  those 
who  are  interested  in  the  products  of  our  rivers,  forests,  gardens,  orch- 
ards and  grain-fields. 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS 


Photo  by  Fred  E.  Brooks 

West  Virginia  Stream  bordered  by  woods  in  which  countless  Warblers 

reside. 


10 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS  11 

CHAPTER  II. 
ECONOMIC  ORNITHOLOGY. 

Definition. 

The  study  of  the  food  and  food-habits  of  birds  is  called  Economic 
Ornithology.  In  this  particular  branch  of  bird-study  we  consider  all 
the  things  that  birds  eat,  their  useful  food-habits  and^  their  harmful 
food-habits,  their  place  in  maintaining  the  balance  of  nature,  and  the 
help  or  hindrance  they  bring  to  us  in  our  life  work,  and  we  study  all 
the  beneficial  or  baneful  effects  which  they  have  on  all  other  forms  of 
life,  including  all  other  birds,  insects,  mammals,  reptiles,  crustaceans, 
and  man  himself.  Economic  Ornithology  is  the  most  practical  phase  of 
the  interesting  science  called  Ornithology  and  is  fascinating  to  those  who 
pursue  the  intricate  questions  involved.  It  is  a  pleasure,  too,  because 
the  student  of  the  food  and  food-habits  of  birds  needs  not  only  to  be  much 
in  the  open  air,  the  woods,  fields  and  orchards,  but  he  must  have 
a  general  knowledge  of  birds  as  well  as  some  knowledge  of  forestry, 
of  fruit-bearing  and  nut-bearing  shrubs  and  trees,  weeds,  insects,  mam- 
mals, and  a  host  of  other  things  that  make  up  the  environment  of  a 
bird.  No  one  can  successfully  study  the  food  of  birds  without  getting 
a  careful  training  in  systematic  nature  work.  Economic  Ornithology 
is  a  practical  science  and  those  who  add  new  facts  to  our  present  store 
of  knowledge  pertaining  to  the  food  of  birds  will  make  a  valuable  con- 
tribution to  the  welfare  of  all  who  are  interested  in  economic  problems 
and  the  practical  things  of  life. 

Kinds  of  Food. 

In  this  chapter  will  be  taken  up  many  of  the  classes  of  food  on 
which  our  birds  depend.  This  will  help  us  in  our  more  detailed  study 
of  the  groups  of  birds.  By  glancing  over  the  headings  in 
this  chapter,  one  may  easily  see  how  many  kinds  of  foods  birds  require 
and  how  omnivorous  the  birds  really  are.  Some  are  fruit-eaters,  and 
are  called  frugivorous;  others  eat  grain  and  seeds,  and  are  called  grani- 
vorous;  many  species  subsist  largely  upon  insects  and  are  called  insecti- 
vorous; those  that  feed  on  flesh  are  called  carnivorous,  and  those  that 
eat  fish  are  piscivorous;  while  those  that  have  a  greatly  varied  diet 
are  known  as  omnivorous  birds.  Since  the  variety  of  the  food  of  birds 
is  so  great,  their  relationships  are  many.  The  Hummingbirds  sip  the 
nectar  of  the  daintiest  flower;  the  Yellow-bellied  Sapsucker  drinks  the 
sweet  sap  from  a  fountain  of  his  own  making  in  the  bark  of  a  birch 
or  maple  tree;  many  species  enjoy  the  delicious  flavors  of  wild  and 
cultivated  fruits  quite  as  well  as  we  do;  a  host  of  birds  eat  insects; 
some  like  fish  and  frogs;  the  Hawks  and  Owls  prey  upon  mammals  and 
other  birds;  many  of  our  more  common  species  feed  largely  upon  weed 
seeds  and  grains,  while  the  Turkey  Vulture  and  a  few  other  species 
gorge  themselves  with  refuse  matter  of  various  kinds.  This  chapter 
sets  forth  the  kinds  of  food  that  birds  eat  and  suggests  many  facts  that 


12  FOOD  OF  WKST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS 

are  of  interest  because  of  the  quantity  and  variety  of  the  birds'  daily 
fare. 

Birds  in  Relation,  to  Trees  and   Forests. 

The  lumber  industry  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  all  our  manu- 
facturing enterprises.  Under  normal  conditions  West  Virginia  ought  to 
produce  1,600,000,000  feet  of  lumber  per  year.  At  an  average  of  $20.00 
per  thousand  feet  the  gross  income  from  lumber  sales  in  our  own  State 
would  be  $32,dOO,000.00  each  year.  In  1911  about  26,000  men  were  en- 
gaged in  the  various  phases  of  the  lumber  industry  in  West  Virginia. 
Together  these  had  an  annual  income  of  not  less  than  $16,000,000.00*. 
In  addition  to  the  immediate  profits  that  come  to  hosts  of  men  as  they 
cut  the  trees  in  the  woods,  haul  or  otherwise  transport  the  logs  to  the 
mills,  saw  them  into  merchantable  materials  of  different  kinds,  finish 
the  boards  into  a  condition  fit  for  use  in  building;  in  addition  to  the 
great  gains  that  come  to  the  owner  of  wood-lots  and  to  the  owner  of 
large  timber  tracts  as  they  dispose  of  their  wood  and  wood-products  to 
others,  and  in  addition  to  the  pecuniary  gains  that  come  to  carpenters 
and  all  workers  in  wood,  we  have,  in  our  every  day  life,  a  thousand 
advantages  that  come  to  us  from  our  forests,  our  trees  and  the  things 
that  are  made  of  wood.  The  forests  of  West  Virginia  are  of  incalculable 
pecuniary  worth  to  the  State. 

Aside  from  the  immediate  gains  that  come  to  so  many  of  our  citizens 
as  they  engage  in  the  lumber  business,  as  they  sell  their  forest  lands 
and  as  they  profit  in  many  ways  from  lumber  and  the  many  things 
that  are  made  from  wood  and  in  addition  to  the  comforts  that  come 
to  us  all  because  of  this  common  building  material,  there  are  other 
advantages  in  which  we  all  share,  when  we  consider  the  economic 
and  esthetic  value  of  our  trees  and  our  forests.  For  centuries  wood 
was  the  common  fuel  of  our  country  and  is  still  used  in  great  quantities 
for  that  purpose.  The  forests  conserve  our  water  supply  by  storing 
up  in  the  masses  of  leaves  and  decaying  vegetation,  that  accumulate 
under  the  trees,  the  rain  that  falls,  and,  thus,  holding  it,  give  it  out 
gradually  to  the  springs  and,  by  evaporation,  to  the  cloud  masses 
that  form  in  our  mountain  sections.  By  this  process  floods  are  held 
back,  droughts  are  made  less  probable,  and  the  moisture  is  more  evenly 
distributed  over  all  the  land  surface.  Our  forests  also  contribute  to 
the  general  health  of  the  State  and  are  the  source  of  much  pleasure  to 
an  increasing  number  of  campers,  hunters,  fisheflmen  and  naturalists. 

Not  only  are  trees  valuable  in  the  large  groups  that  we  call  forests 
or  woodland,  but  they  are  of  great  value  considered  specifically  or 
individually.  A  well-formed  tree  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  objects 
in  all  the  natural  world.  The  flowers  and  the  foliage  produced  by 
some  of  our  trees  add  much  to  the  landscape,  and  the  shade  of  a  tree 
is  most  delightful.  Some  species  produce  valuable  fruit  and  others  yield 
nuts.  In  many  ways  trees  are  of  value  to  every  man,  woman  and 
child  within  our  State.  Their  conservation  is  most  important. 

The  birds  do  much  to  protect  the  trees  and  the  forests.  Were  it  not 
for  the  presence  of  the  birds  it  would  be  only  a  few  years  till  the 


FOOD  or  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS  13 

trees  of  West  Virginia  would  be  denuded  of  every  green  leaf  and  even 
the  branches  and  trunks  devoured  by  the  many  kinds  of  insects  that 
would  increase  abnormally  without  the  birds.  There  are  at  least  three 
important  relationships  which  birds  sustain  towards  the  trees.  These 
will  be  briefly  discussed. 

1.  Birds  destroy  many  kinds  of  insects  that  are  hurtful  to  the  trees. 
The    Woodpeckers,    Nuthatches,    Creeper    and    some    of    the    Warblers 
feed   upon   many   kinds   of   insects   that   affect   the   bark,   cambium   and 
wood  of  the  trees.     They  are  the  guardians  of  the  tree-trunks.     Among 
the  branches  the  Sparrows,  Warblers,  Vireos,  Cuckoos,  Kinglets,  Titmice, 
Thrushes  and  many  others  gather  insects  throughout  the  greater  part 
of  the  year.     The  Swallows,  Swifts  and  Flycatchers  patrol  the  air  and 
there  destroy  many  tree  enemies. 

2.  The    birds    distribute   the    seeds   of   many   tree   species   and    thus 
help   in   the   great   work   of  reforestation.     Each   year  millions   of   nuts 
are  carried  by  Blue  Jays,  Grackles,  Woodpeckers,  Nuthatches,  Titmice 
and   others  and   are   scattered   in  every   direction.     Many  of  these   fall 
to  the  ground,  germinate  the  following  spring  and  start  new  trees.     The 
seeds  of  fruit-bearing  species  are  freely  scattered  in  this  same  manner. 
Under  the  section  in  which  I  discuss  the  birds  in  their  relation  to  fruit 
this  point  will  be  spoken  of  in  detail. 

3.  Birds  are  sometimes  injurious  to  trees.     Many  species  are  punc- 
tured by  the  Yellow-bellied  Sapsucker  and  perhaps  are  occasionally  killed 
in  this  manner.     These  punctures  made  in  living  trees  by  this  species 
of  Woodpecker,   and   perhaps   by   a   few   other   species,   often   result   in 
decay,  or  are  the  cause  of  attack   by  insects  or  fungus   diseases.     Dr. 
A.   D.   Hopkins,   however,   has  pointed   out  the   fact  that  these  wounds 
often  cause  a  birds-eye  effect  in  some  of  our  trees  and  thus  enhance 
their  value  when  cut  and  sawed  into  lumber.     There  Is  no  doubt  that 
insects  sometimes  enter  through  the  punctures  made  by  birds  and  that 
the  spores  of  fungus  diseases  find  entrance  there.     It  is  believed  by  many 
that   the   chestnut   blight   fungus    is   carried   from   tree   to   tree   on   the 
feet  of  the  birds.     Yet  the  harm  done  by  the  birds  to  our  trees  is  as 
nothing  Avhen  compared  with  the  good  they  do. 

Birds  and  Fruits. 

Great  numbers  of  our  birds  vary  their  daily  diet  by  feeding  upon  fruits 
of  various  kinds.  Such  birds  are  sometimes  very  destructive  to  certain 
valuable  cultivated  fruits.  Sweet  cherries,  sour  cherries,  strawberries 
and  grapes  are  eaten  by  a  number  of  our  birds.  In  reply  to  a  question- 
naire sent  last  summer  to  a  number  of  prominent  grangers  throughout 
the  State  the  following  information  was  forthcoming.  Fifteen  species 
of  birds  are  said  to  feed  upon  the  cultivated  sweet  cherry,  and  the 
greatest  proportion  of  guilt  falls  upon  the  Robin,  Catbird,  Flicker  and 
Red-headed  Woodpecker;  thirteen  species  are  said  to  feed  upon  the  fruit 
of  the  cultivated  sour  cherry,  and  the  same  birds  are  named  as  the 
greatest  offenders;  the  Robin,  English  Sparrow,  Catbird,  Crow,  Bob- 


*See  A.   B.   Brooks',    "Forestry  and   Wood   Industries",   W.   Va.   Geolog.    Survey, 
p.  20. 


M 


FOOD  or  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIBDS 


Foon  OF  WEST  VIRC.IXIA  BIROS  15 


\vhite,  Flicker,  Cowbird,  Cedarbird  and  Bluebird  are  said  to  be  destruc- 
tive to  strawberries;  six  species  are  said  to  feed  upon  grapes  and  the 
same  number  of  birds  are  said  to  have  a  fondness  for  currants.  While 
this  information  can  not  be  considered  as  strictly  accurate,  yet  it  shows 
in  a  general  way  that  many  birds  eat  our  cultivated  fruits  and  it  helps 
to  lay  the  blame  on  the  culpable  species.  However  the  fruit-eating 
habits  of  many  of  our  birds  is  not  altogether  harmful.  As  may  be 
learned  by  reading  the  following  paragraphs,  this  habit  is  exceedingly 
helpful  to  some  of  our  great  industries,  since  by  the  sowing  of  the 
seeds  of  wild  fruits  the  work  of  natural  reforestation  is  largely  kept  up. 

During  the  past  season  careful  investigations  were  made  in  regard  to 
the  fruit-eating  habits  of  many  of  our  birds.  My  assistant  in  this  work 
spent  a  great  many  days  in  the  field,  and  the  writer  had  the  privilege 
of  making  many  original  observations  along  this  line.  Others,  too,  have 
helped  in  this  part  of  the  work.  Several  interesting  facts  were  developed 
along  this  line.  Some  of  these  are  set  forth  here  for  the  first  time. 

I  have  come  to  the  deliberate  conclusion  that  the  destruction  of  culti- 
vated fruits  is  not  so  great  as  we  commonly  believe.  In  a  cherry  orchard 
belonging  to  Mr.  R.  L.  Darnall,  to  whom  I  am  exceedingly  thankful  for 
help  given  in  the  pursuance  of  same  of  my  investigations,  there  were 
about  twenty  trees  bearing  fruit  of  the  black  sweet  variety.  After 
observing  the  work  of  birds  in  this  orchard  for  a  number  of  days  we 
found  that  in  the  course  of  an  entire  week  no  more  than  one  gallon 
of  cherries  was  eaten.  Though  this  orchard  was  in  a  place  where  there 
were  many  birds,  and  though  the  birds  came  and  went  freely,  only  a 
little  more  than  one  pint  of  cherries  was  eaten  each  day.  In  the  middle 
of  this  orchard  of  black  sweet  cherries  there  grew  a  wild  mulberry  tree 
that  bore  quite  a  crop  of  fruit.  Though  I  watched  this  tree  carefully 
for  one  half  day,  not  a  single  bird  came  to  eat  of  the  fruit.  The 
Tufted  Titmice  and  other  species  came  and  ate  the  cherries  that  grew 
near  by,  but  none  ate  the  mulberries.  Only  once  or  twice  during  several 
days  of  observation  did  my  assistant,  Mr.  King,  see  the  birds  take  a 
mulberry  from  the  tree  that  stood  in  the  midst  of  the  cherry  orchard. 
The  birds  of  all  kinds  seemed  greatly  to  prefer  the  cherries.  It  has 
been  stated  frequently  that  the  planting  of  mulberry  trees  about  a  cherry 
orchard  would  be  the  means  of  attracting  the  birds  from  the  cherries, 
but  this  observation  of  mine  seems  to  disprove  that  theory.  However, 
the  Russian  mulberry  may  afford  a  better  protection  to  the  cherries  than 
does  the  wild  variety. 

It  is  undeniably  true  that  much  valuable  fruit  is  destroyed  by  some  of 
our  birds,  yet  the  good  the  birds  do  should  be  considered  before  they 
are  killed  for  this  one  offence. 

My  most  interesting  studies  during  the  past  summer  have  been  in 
regard  to  the  birds  and  their  habit  of  feeding  upon  the  wild  fruits  of 
many  kinds.  Our  West  Virginia  forests  abound  in  wild  fruits  of  many 
varieties.  Some  of  these  fruits  ripen  very  early  in  the  season;  others 
mature  in  mid-summer;  some  do  not  ripen  till  fall,  and  some  varieties  ad- 
here to  the  vines  or  bushes  all  the  winter  long.  Throughout  all  the  year 
there  is  wild  fruit  of  some  kind  available  to  the  birds  that  like  it.  I  have 


16  FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIBDS 

been  surprised  to  find  how  many  kinds  of  wild  fruits  we  have,  how  many 
are  eaten  by  the  birds  and  what  a  large  per  centage  of  the  food  of  birds 
consists  of  the  many  varieties  of  fruits  that  grow  in  the  fields  and  the 
woodlands.  The  fact  that  so  many  birds  feed  upon  wild  fruits  has 
led  me  to  note  that  among  the  small  trees  and  shrubs  that  soon  spring 
up  after  the  forests  are  cut  down  or  destroyed  in  any  manner,  by  far 
the  larger  number  are  the  fruit-bearing  varieties.  Let  us  notice  this 
process  of  reforesting  briefly.  When  a  tract  of  land  is  burned  over 
and  all  growing  trees  and  plants  destroyed  and  even  the  humus  burned, 
the  land  is  practically  worthless  in  that  condition.  Very  soon  nature 
begins  to  repair  the  great  damage  done.  The  wind  soon  blows  the  spores 
of  ferns  and  mosses,  the  weed  seeds  that  bear  pappus,  and  these  are  the 
first  forms  of  vegetation  to  appear;  during  the  years  that  have  gone 
by  thousands  of  birds  have  been  carrying  tens  of  thousands  of  seeds 
and  sowing  them  broadcast  over  this  tract  of  land,  since  they  swallow 
many  of  the  seeds  of  the  fruits  they  eat  and  'cast  them  out  at  their  con- 
venience; these  fruit  seeds  soon  germinate,  since  they  have  not  been 
killed  by  the  fire,  and  soon  wild  "bird"  cherries  (the  name  is  very  sug- 
gestive), poke  berry  bushes,  sassafras,  sujmacs  of  several  kinds,  Her- 
cules' club,  the  dogwoods,  elder  bushes,  holly  of  several  kinds,  the  haws, 
etc.,  etc.,  are  coming  up  everywhere;  the  squirrels  and  birds  have  carried 
nuts,  and  these  begin  to  grow.  Thus  the  former  forest  is  replaced  slowly 
by  a  new  forest,  and  in  this  process  the  birds  have  a  very  important  part. 
It  should  be  remembered  that  most  of  the  first  shrubs  to  grow  up  In 
old  fields  or  in  places  where  the  virgin  forest  has  been  destroyed  are 
fruit-bearing  varieties. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  usefulness  of  birds  as  planters  of  the  seeds 
of  wild  fruits  I  may  give  the  following  illustration.  Last  summer  I 
noticed  a  beautiful  holly  tree  tthat  stood  not  many  feet  from  an  old 
fence.  Along  the  fence-row  perhaps  fifteen  or  twenty  small  holly  trees 
were  springing  up.  My  only  possible  conclusion  was  that  the  birds 
had  eaten  the  holly  berries,  had  flown  to  the  convenient  fence,  and  there 
dropped  the  seeds.  Thus  the  seeds  were  scattered  by  the  birds  and  new 
holly  trees  were  growing  all  the  while.  In  such  manner  many  useful 
trees  are  propagated,  and  the  forests  are  renewed  constantly.  For  this 
service  we  are  under  great  obligations  to  the  birds. 

Birds   and    Grain. 

Several  species  of  birds  are  destructive  to  grain.  In  the  questionnaire 
mentioned  above,  the  Crow,  Mourning  Dove,  Chewink,  Bronzed  Crackle, 
English  Sparrow,  Red-winged  Blackbird,  Robin,  Flicker,  Cardinal  and 
Catbird  are  accused  of  "pulling"  corn;  the  Crow,  Red-headed  Wood- 
pecker, English  Sparrow,  Flicker,  Bronzed  Grackle,  Red-winged  Black- 
bird and  Cowbird  are  said  to  eat  the  corn  when  "in  the  milk."  Others 
are  accused  of  eating  wheat  and  oats.  I  have  seen  fields  of  corn  in 
which  great  damage  had  been  done  by  Crows  in  pulling  the  sprouting 
corn  stalks.  However,  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  Crows  eat  in- 
sects that  are  destructive  to  corn  and  thus  partly  atone  for  the  damage 
done.  I  have  also  seen  fields  in  which  at  least  half  the  ears  of  corn  had 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS  17 

been  opened  by  the  Red-headed  Woodpeckers  when  the  corn  was  "in 
the  milk"  and  many  of  the  ears  greatly  injured.  This  damage,  however, 
is  not  general,  and  one  does  not  often  see  a  field  in  which  these  Wood- 
peckers have  carried  on  their  destructive  work.  Very  little  damage 
is  done  by  the  birds  to  the  wheat  and  oats,  though  English  Sparrows 
are  quite  destructive  at  times. 

Birds  and  Vegetables. 

Few  vegetables  are  injured  by  the  birds.  The  Baltimore  Oriole  is 
accused  of  eating  green  peas,  though  I  think  this  accusation  is  rather 
traditional  than  real;  the  Goldfinch  or  "Lettuce  Bird"  feeds  on  the 
tender  leaves  of  some  of  our  succulent  garden  plants,  but  no  real  harm 
is  done  by  them;  and  sweet  corn  is  sometimes  attacked  by  the  Wood- 
peckers. But  altogether  the  injury  done  by  birds  to  vegetables  is  not 
worth  mentioning.  On  the  other  hand  it  would  be  impossible  to  grow 
vegetables  were  it  not  for  the  birds  that  destroy  the  Insects  that  feed 
upon  them.  Throughout  this  bulletin  reference  is  made  in  many  places 
to  the  birds  that  eat  insects  that  are  injurious  to  vegetables. 

i 
Birds  and  Weed  Seeds. 

As  destroyers  of  weed-seeds  birds  do  some  of  their  very  best  service. 
The  Sparrows  are  particularly  helpful  in  this  way.  Among  the  hard- 
ships of  the  farmer  in  West  Virginia  is  the  necessity  of  working  con- 
tinuously through  the  entire  summer  to  keep  down  the  great  number  of 
weeds  that  spring  up  everywhere.  Each  year  he  must  keep  up  the 
fight  and  so  persistent  are  some  species  of  weeds  that  they  increase 
in  spite  of  all  the  pulling,  hoeing  and  plowing.  Of  late  certain  weeds 
have  been  imported  and  these  add  to  the  troubles  of  the  past.  On  account 
of  the  great  amount  of  labor  made  necessary  by  the  abounding  growth  of 
weeds  of  almost  unnumbered  varieties,  the  agriculturist,  horticulturist, 
market  gardener  and  home  gardener  gladly  welcome  every  means  of 
abating  the  weed  nuisance.  Our  greatest  help  comes  from  the  birds. 
When  many  of  the  insects  are  dead  and  others  are  dormant,  when  the 
cold  days  of  winter  come  and  many  of  the  hardier  species  of  birds  re- 
main with  us,  they  attack  the  great  stores  of  food  that  nature  has  pro- 
vided for  them,  and  many  of  the  birds  turn  to  the  abundant  crop  of 
weed  seeds  that  ripen  each  year.  A  number  of  the  Sparrows  spend 
the  winter  in  West  Virginia.  These,  especially,  feed  upon  that  sort 
of  food.  In  one  of  Prof.  Beal's  publications  he  says,  "Examination  of 
many  stomachs  shows  that  in  winter  the  Tree  Sparrow  feeds  entirely 
upon  seeds  of  weeds;  and  probably  each  bird  consumes  about  one-fourth 
of  an  ounce  a  day.  In  an  article  contributed  to  the  New  York  Tribune 
in  1881  the  writer  estimated  the  amount  of  weed  seed  annually  destroyed 
by  these  birds  in  the  State  of  Iowa.  Upon  the  basis  of  one-fourth 
of  an  ounce  of  seed  eaten  daily  by  each  bird,  and  supposing  that  the 
birds  averaged  ten  to  each  square  mile,  and  that  they  remain  in  their 
winter  range  two  hundred  days,  we  shall  have  a  total  of  1,750,000 
pounds,  or  875  tons,  of  weed  seeds  consumed  by  this  one  species  in 


18  F<  oi)  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIKHS 

a -single  season."  This  illustration  proves  in  a  most  conclusive  way  how 
much  good  a  single  species  may  do.  Multiply  the  amount  of  good  done 
by  the  Tree  Sparrows  by  the  large  number  of  like  birds  that  remain 
here  over  winter  and  we  may  begin  to  see  how  important  a  function 
the  winter  birds  perform  in  the  destruction  of  weed  seeds.  We  have 
not,  in  the  past,  fully  appreciated  the  helpfulness  of  birds  in  subduing 
the  masses  of  weeds  that  grow  up  everywhere  as  often  as  spring  and 
summer  return.  In  their  excellent  book  entitled  "Birds  in  Their  Rela- 
tion to  Man"  Weed  and  Dearborn  say,  "The  largest  proportion  of  the 
seeds  eaten  by  birds  are  produced  by  herbs,  most  of  which  are  useless, 
while  many  of  them  are  noxious  weeds.  The  quantity  of  pestiferous 
seeds  thus  annually  destroyed  is  enormous,  and  man  is  deeply  indebted 
to  the  birds  that  destroy  them.  The  great  group  of  many-flowered  plants, 
the  order  Compositae,  supplies  food  for  a  multitude  of  small  finches. 
Early  in  the  season  the  downy  heads  of  the  dandelion  call  Sparrows 
and  Goldfinches  to  lawns  and  road-sides.  A  little  later  horse-weeds  and 
thistles  furnish  similar  food  to  the  same  hungry  company.  The  ragweed, 
which  springs  up  unbidden  everywhere,  is  perhaps  the  best  bird  provider 
in  this  family,  in  grain-fields  along  road-sides,  and  in  worn-out  pastures 
this  plant  affords  the  birds  a  feast  unsurpassed  either  in  amount  or 
duration.  During  the  latter  part  of  their  stay  the  summer  Sparrows 
largely  depend  upon  it;  while  in  the  winter  Bob-whites,  Goldfinches, 
Redpolls,  English  Sparrows,  Snow-flakes  and  Horned  Larks  make  festi- 
val among  its  miniature  branches.  Even  the  Red-headed  and  Red- 
bellied  Woodpeckers  as  well  as  the  Flicker  have  been  known  to  partake 
of  these  ragweed  seeds.  *  *  *  *  Knotweed.  sheep-sorrel,  dock, 
bindweed  and  many  more — each  contributes  to  the  birds  that  frequent 
its  station.  *****  Tne  see(js  Of  the  pigweeds,  hemp,  mullein, 
and  a  host  of  other  weeds  belonging  to  less  numerous  families  are  also 
freely  drawn  upon  for  the  support  of  bird  life."  Most  of  the  seeds 
eaten  by  birds  are  crushed  and  their  germinating  power  is  destroyed. 
Therefore  the  birds  which  feed  upon  these  seeds  do  not  scatter  them 
as  the  fruit-eating  birds  scatter  the  indigestible  seeds  of  fruit.  The 
seeds  the  birds  eat  are  crushed  and  digested  and  can  not  grow.  This 
means  that  practically  all  the  millions  of  pounds  of  weed  seeds  eaten  each 
fall,  winter  and  spring  in  West  Virginia  are  forever  destroyed.  What 
a  wilderness  of  weeds  would  spring  up  if  the  birds  did  not  help  so 
effectively  in  keeping  them  under  control! 

Insect   Food  of  Birds. 

Another  portion  of  this  chapter  must  be  given  to  the  study  of  the  insect 
food  of  birds.  By  far  the  largest  number  of  our  species  are  insecti- 
vorous, and  of  all  the  food  taken  by  our  West  Virginia  birds  in  the 
course  of  the  year  I  suppose  that  fully  three-fourths  is  made  up  of 
insects  in  the  egg,  larva,  pupa  or  imago  stage.  The  incalculable  good 
done  by  the  birds  in  the  destruction  of  insects  can  not  be  fully  com- 
prehended till  we  face  some  of  the  almost  overwhelming  facts  of  the 
insect  world,  nor  can  we  comprehend  fully  then,  for  the  facts  and  figures 
are  beyond  our  powers  to  understand.  A  few  of  these  facts  may  be 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIBCIXIA  BIROS  19 

given  as  suggestive  of  what  might  be  our  condition  if  birds  should 
cease  to  hold  in  check  the  many  kinds  of  insects.  More  than  three  hun- 
dred thousand  kinds  of  insects  have  been  described  and  every  year 
many  new  species  are  being  discovered  by  entomologists.  No  one  has 
yet  ventured  to  make  a  catalogue  of  the  different  kinds  of  insects  to  be 
found  in  West  Virginia  since  the  list  would  be  so  long  as  to  make 
such  an  undertaking  practically  impossible.  It  is  probably  no  exag- 
geration at  all  to  say  that  our  Wfest  Virginia  list  of  species  of  insects 
numbers  from  five  to  ten  thousand.  And  not  only  are  there  numerous 
species,  but  individuals  of  some  species  are  so  abundant  as  to  be  beyond 
all  reckoning.  One  famous  entomologist  tells  us  that  he  saw  at  a  single 
glance  more  individuals  of  a  certain  species  of  snow  flea  than  there 
are  human  beings  on  the  entire  face  of  the  earth.  Another  tells  of  esti- 
mating the  number  of  plant  lice  on  a  single  cherry  tree  and  finding  that 
they  numbered  twelve  millions.  Sometimes  army  worms,  chinch  bugs, 
Rocky  Mountain  locusts,  certain  species  of  beetles  and  other  forms  of 
insect  life  come  in  innumerable  millions.  When  one  considers  the 
enormous  reproductive  capacity  of  insects,  their  present  numbers  and 
the  possibilities  of  unchecked  increase  in  the  future  one  shudders  at 
the  thought  and  dreads  the  day  when  the  crawling,  creeping,  buzzing 
destructive  creatures  may  be  far  worse  than  they  are  now.  Prof.  Riley 
tells  us  that  the  twelfth  brood  of  the  hop  vine  aphis,  coming  in  one 
season  from  a  single  pair,  would  number,  if  left  unchecked  by  natural 
enemies,  not  less  than  10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,  a  number  that  is 
almost  infinitely  beyond  our  powers  of  comprehension.  Most  of  our 
insects  increase  very  rapidly,  and,  if  left  unchecked  by  natural  enemies, 
would  soon  lay  waste  and  bare  the  entire  surface  of  the  earth.  These 
billions  of  insects,  it  must  be  remembered,  eat  most  voraciously.  They 
require  far  more  food  than  most  forms  of  animal  life.  Dr.  Forbush 
says,  "Many  caterpillars  daily  eat  twice  their  weight  in  leaves;  which 
is  as  if  an  ox  were  to  devour,  every  twenty-four  hours,  three-quarters 
of  a  ton  of  grass."  Insects  develop  very  rapidly,  in  most  cases,  and 
require  much  food  to  keep  up  this  ceaseless  growth.  In  view  of  the 
uncounted  numbers  of  species,  the  billions  of  individuals  of  some  of 
these  species,  their  rapid  rate  of  increase  and  the  vast  amount  of  food 
required  by  them,  it  becomes  very  evident  that  all  ordinary  and  extra- 
ordinary, all  natural  and  all  artificial,  means  of  restricting  the  increase 
of  harmful  species  of  insects  .is  absolutely  imperative.  Of  all  known 
methods  of  curbing  the  geo/tnetrical  progression  of  increase  among  the 
insects,  none  is  better  than  nature's  own  effective  way  of  sending 
birds  to  eat  them  up.  Some  birds  scratch  among  the  leaves  and  find 
the  insects  that  are  working  on  the  ground  or  that  infest  the  leaves 
and  debris;  others  feed  on  insects  that  are  found  in  pasture  lands  amon? 
the  grasses,  and  lower  forms  of  plant  life;  some  search  continuously 
among  the  shrubs  and  lesser  trees;  others  climb  over  the  trunks  and 
branches  with  vigilant  eyes;  and  still  others  catch  the  insects  that  fly 
about  in  the  air.  Some  birds  take  the  dormant  insects  that  live  over 
winter  and  thus  prevent  the  possible  increase  during  the  coming  season; 
others  eat  eggs  and  the  very  smallest  insect  forms;  while  still  others 


20 


Poon  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS 


come  in  great  numbers  in  the  spring,  just  as  many  insects  are  emerg- 
ing from  cocoon,  pupa  case,  or  egg  and  devour  them  before  their  work 
of  destruction  has  begun.  Some  of  the  insects  thus  destroyed  are  useful 
but  most  of  them  are  very  destructive.  The  fact  to  be  borne  in  mind  in 
considering  the  insect  food  of  birds  is  this,  that  the  birds  keep  the 


Thoto    by    A.    B.    Brooks 

Young  Persimmon  tree  about  one-fourth  mile  from  cedar 
grove  with  eight  young  cedars  growing  immediately 
under  its  branches.  Cedars  planted  by  the  birds. 

harmful  species  of  insects  from  becoming  far  more  harmful,  and  they 
so  hold  in  check  other  species  as  to  keep  them  from  becoming  .harmful. 
As  may  be  seen,  in  the  following  pages,  the  birds  are  our  friends  in 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIKGIMA  BIRDS  21 

protecting  our  crops  from  insect  ravages  and  in  holding  in  check  one  of 
the  worst  foes  of  all  material  progress. 

Carnivorous   Birds. 

There  is  a  large  class  of  birds  that  are  called  Birds  of  Prey.  These 
are  the  Hawks,  Eagles  and  Owls.  Their  food  consists  of  domestic 
poultry,  game  birds,  song  birds,  mammals  of  many  kinds,  reptiles  and 
insects.  It  is  generally  believed  that,  as  a  class,  these  birds  are  harm- 
ful and- should  be  destroyed.  In  some  cases  this  is  true,  but  with  most 
of  the  species  it  is  not  true.  The  Hawks  and  Owls  that  feed  largely 
upon  poultry  and  song  birds  are,  of  course,  harmful  and  should  be  de- 
stroyed. However,  in  this  large  group  of  carnivorous  birds  we  find  many 
useful  species.  Some  of  the  rodents  and  other  small  mammals  which 
these  birds  destroy  would  become  exceedingly  harmful  if  allowed  to 
increase.  At  times  there  have  been  outbreaks  of  mice  and  other  small 
mammals  which  have  threatened  the  destruction  of  much  grain  and 
other  growing  crops.  Rabbits  become  harmful  at  times  and  in  the 
west  much  injury  is  done  by  gophers,  ground  squirrels  and  prairie 
dogs.  On  these  the  Hawks  and  Owls  feed  and  keep  them  from  greater 
destructive  work  than  they  do  at  present. 

Scavengers. 

Another  class  of  birds  that  is  worthy  of  mention,  because  of  their 
useful  food-habits,  are  the  scavengers.  The  best  known  representative 
of  this  group  is  the  Turkey  Vulture.  As  one  goes  toward  the  south 
where  warm  weather  hastens  the  processes  of  decay  there  is  the  more 
need  for  the  work  of  these  carrion-eating  birds.  In  this  work  of  clean- 
ing up  the  refuse  matter  the  Turkey  Vulture  or  "Turkey  Buzzard"  is 
assisted  to  some  extent  by  the  Crow  and  a  few  other  species.  The 
birds  that  do  effective  scavenger  work  should  be  protected  most  rigidly. 

Water  Birds. 

Birds  that  live  along  streams,  the  water  birds,  shore  birds,  and  others, 
depend  upon  fish  and  other  forms  of  aquatic  life  for  their  food.  Mr. 
Robert  K.  Robinson,  of  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries  at  White  Sulphur  Springs, 
has  written  me  that  the  Belted  Kingfishers  are  quite  destructive  to 
the  young  fish  in  their  ponds.  He  also  says  of  the  Green  Heron,  "For 
the  time  that  these  birds  appear  about  the  ponds,  I  regard  them  as 
the  most  destructive  of  all  birds  that  prey  upon  the  small  fish  in  our 
ponds.  On  one  occasion  there  was  removed  from  one  of  these  birds 
(which  had  been  shot  near  one  of  our  ponds)  between  15  and  20  fingerling 
trout,  from  one  and  a  half  to  two  inches  in  length."  The  Phoebe  is 
also  said  to  feed  to  some  extent  upon  the  very  small  trout  in  the  govern- 
ment ponds.  The  Osprey  or  Fish  Hawk  destroys  some  fish,  but  is  so 
rare  that  its  economic  relationships  are  scarcely  worth  considering. 
Many  of  our  other  water  and  shore  birds  feed  upon  small  fish,  frogs, 
shell-fish  and  water  insects.  However,  these  species  are  of  no  par- 
ticular importance  from  our  practical  standpoint  and  need  not  be  dis- 
cussed further. 


FOOD    OF    Wh>T    VlkM.MA    BIRDS 


Relationships  to   Human   Life. 

All  these  paragraphs  in  this  chapter  converge  upon  the  final  paragraph 
in  which  the  relationships  of  birds  to  man  are  to  be  considered.  Every- 
thing the  birds  do  that  in  any  way  helps  us  in  our  work,  makes  life 
easier  and  better,  belongs  in  this  chapter.  It  goes  without  saying 
that  it  must  be  mnltum  in  itarvo.  The  paragraphs  already  written  tell 
of  many  ways  in  which  the  birds  help  us.  They  protect  our  forests 
and  orchards,  they  keep  insects  from  devouring  the  foliage  of  our  shade 
trees,  they  devour  many  of  the  insects  that  are  seeking  to  destroy  our 
vegetables,  fruits  and  grains,  they  hold  in  check  the  great  masses  of 
weeds  that  spring  up  and  choke  the  growing  crops,  they  scatter  the 
seeds  of  useful  nut  and  fruit  trees,  they  furnish  us  food,  they  sing  for 
us  and  otherwise  add  to  the  beauty  and  joy  of  the  world,  and  altogether 
they  fill  most  admirably  the  place  for  which  they  were  evidently  created. 
In  return  for  all  this  help  in  the  work  of  life,  man  should  give  the 
most  careful  protection  to  the  birds  that  so  faithfully  assist  him  in  his 
ceaseless  round  of  earning  his  daily  bread. 


FOOD  OF  WK.ST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  PROTECTION  OF   USEFUL   BIRDS. 

^ 
Why? 

If  birds  do  good,  if  they  help  us  in  our  work,  if  they  are  our  friends, 
they  should  be  protected.  If  they  do  harm,  if  they  make  the  work 
we  have  to  do  more  difficult,  if  they  are  our  enemies,  they  should  be 
freed  from  all  protection  by  law  and  by  public  opinion.  But  neither 


Photo    by    E.    H.    Forbush 
Bluebird  with  food  for  young. 

one  of  these  opposite  theories  is  correct.     All  birds  are  not  our  friends, 
neither  are   all   birds   our  enemies.     Therefore   the   statement   must   be 


24  FOOD  of  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS 

modified  and  simplified  until  it  is  reduced  to  this: — All  useful  birds 
should  be  protected  and  all  positively  harmful  birds  may  be  destroyed. 
It  is  the  purpose  of  this  little  book  to  help  those  who  are  interested 
in  the  birds  to  properly  discriminate  between  the  useful  and  the  harmful 
species,  and  to  suggest  ways  of  destroying  the  harmful  ones  and  means 
of  protecting  and  increasing  the  numbers  of  the  useful  ones. 

Campaign  of  Education. 

A  campaign  of  ornithological  education  should  be  begun  at  once  in 
West  Virginia.  Boys,  girls,  teachers,  horticulturists,  orchardists,  fruit- 
dealers,  lumbermen,  hunters,  land-owners  and  every  one  else  should  be 
trained  in  the  knowledge  of  our  birds  and  their  economic  value.  Our 
teachers  should  take  up  the  subject  of  birds  as  the  most  attractive 
field  of  nature  study  and  give  the  boys  and  girls  in  rural,  town  and. 
city  schools  some  definite  knowledge  of  the  usefulness  of  our  birds. 
At  farmers'  meetings,  in  schools  of  higher  grades  and  through  the  various 
channels  of  transmitting  useful  information  the  people  should  be  ac- 
quainted with  the  value  of  bird  life.  A  course  in  Economic  Ornithology 
should  be  given  at  the  State  University.  Illustrated  lectures  on  this 
subject  should  be  presented  on  many  occasions  for  the  diffusion  of 
knowledge  along  this  line.  Literature  should  be  scattered  far  and  wide 
that  the  people  may  know  just  what  our  birds  are  and  whether  they 
are  useful  or  harmful.  Only  two  or  three  publications  on  the  birds  of 
West  Virginia  have  ever  been  available  for  general  distirbution,  and 
these  are  now  scarcely  obtainable.  The  young  people  should  know 
what  the  birds  are  doing  and  what  would  be  the  result  should  they 
cease  from  this  work  of  general  helpfulness.  A  campaign  of  education 
along  these  lines  would  be  one  of  the  very  best  means  of  protecting  our 
birds. 

Protective   Societies. 

Several  societies  have  already  been  organized  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
moting bird  protection.  The  West  Virginia  Audubon  Society,  with  head- 
quarters at  Parkersburg,  has  been  doing  effective  work  and  ought  to 
have  the  hearty  support  of  all  friends  of  the  birds.  The  State  Forest, 
Game  and  Fish  Warden  has,  for  a  number  of  years,  been  making  efforts 
to  educate  the  people  along  the  lines  of  forest,  game  and  fish  protection 
and  has,  incidentally,  done  much  for  the  protection  of  our  song  birds. 
The  State  Commissioner  of  Agriculture  has  taken  up  this  good  work  and, 
through  this  publication,  seeks  to  advance  the  cause  of  bird  protection. 
The  West  Virginia  Forest,  Game  and  Fish,  Protective  Associa- 
tion has  also  helped  in  this  great  work.  Before  its  members  addresses 
have  been  given  and  through  its  extended  organizations  literature 
has  been  distributed.  A  number  of  local  Bird  Clubs  have  done  a 
great  good  in  stirring  up  local  sentiment  in  favor  of  the  birds  and  in 
promoting  bird  study.  Several  individuals  who  have  gathered  some 
knowledge  of  bird-life  have  been  centers  of  influence  that  have  helped 
wonderfully  in  the  cause  of  bird  protection.  We  should  not  be  unmindful 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS  25 

of  the  very  effective  nation-wide  work  of  the  National  Association  of 
Audubon  Societies.  Through  their  official  organ,  Bird-Lore,  by  means 
of  high  class  literature  and  through  a  never-ceasing  campaign  for  better 
laws  for  the  protection  of  birds  this  organization  has  accomplished 
results  that  can  never  be  estimated  and  that  are  not  now  fully  appre- 
ciated. 

Special  Means  of  Protection. 

Se;eral  specific  methods  of  protecting  the  birds  should  be  mentioned 
here.  There  are  many  effective  methods  that  have  been  used.  The 
plan  of  setting  aside  large  tracts  of  land  as  game  refuges,  a  plan  now 
being  carried  out  to  some  extent  by  our  State  Game  Warden,  will  be 
most  effective  in  West  Virginia,  as  it  has  been  elsewhere,  in  helping 
to  increase  the  numbers  of  our  birds.  In  several  places  in  our  State, 
persons  who  are  interested  in  the  birds  are  planting  groves  of  fruit- 
bearing  shrubs  and  trees  that  the  birds  may  be  attracted  and  preserved 
by  the  great  quantities  of  fruit  thus  provided.  If  any  farmer  will  plant 
out  a  small  grove  of  wild  mulberry,  Russian  mulberry,  wild  cherry, 
service  berry,  and  other  trees  or  such  fruit-producing  shrubs  as  the  dog- 
woods, haws,  sumacs,  sassafras,  hollies,  raspberries,  blackberries,  elder- 
berries, etc.,  he  will  be  rewarded  by  having  his  own  cultivated  fruits 
somewhat  protected  and  by  the  constant  presence  and  help  of  large 
numbers  of  insect-eating  birds.  The  thickets  that  may  be  left  in  some 
unused  corner  of  farm,  garden  or  orchard  afford  shelter  to  the  birds 
and  thus  protect  them  from  the  cold  and  from  some  of  their  natural 
enemies.  If  all  needless  cats  are  destroyed,  the  bird  population  will 
greatly  increase.  In  winter  time  food  may  be  scattered  out  when  there 
are  long-continued  snows  and  food  is  becoming  scarce.  Nesting  places 
may  be  provided,  and  the  birds  may  be  encouraged  in  many  ways  to 
build  their  nests  about  one's  premises.  No  nests  should  be  destroyed 
except  those  of  the  more  harmful  species.  A  spirit  of  general  friendli- 
ness manifested  towards  the  birds  will  do  much  to  protect  them  from 
their  enemies  and  to  encourage  them  to  do  well  their  part  of  the 
work  of  the  great  natural  world. 

Protective  Laws. 

All  our  migratory  birds  are  now  protected  by  Federal  laws.  Our  State 
also  has,  in  a  somewhat  modified  form,  what  is  called  the  Model  Audubon 
Law  for  the  protection  of  birds.  If  these  laws  were  enforced  as  they 
should  be,  we  would  have  an  immediate  increase  in  the  numbers  of 
our  useful  birds  and  the  work  of  other  protective  agencies  would  be 
greatly  lessened.  By  these  two  laws  practically  all  of  our  birds  ex- 
cepting the  Hawks,  Owls,  the  Crow,  Belted  Kingfisher  and  English 
Sparrow  are  rigidly  protected.  All  laws  should  be  enforced  and 
especially  should  such  helpful  laws  as  these  have  back  of  them  the  full 
power  of  enlightened  public  sentiment.  Useful  birds  are  protected  by 
the  laws  of  our  State  and  this  protection  should  be  afforded  them.  The 
legal  penalties  and  fines  should  be  imposed  whenever  the  laws  are 
broken. 


26  FOOD  OF  WEST  VIKGIMA  BIRDS 

Propagation  of  Useful  Species. 

The  propagation  of  certain  useful  species  of  Game  Birds  should  be 
taken  up  in  this  chapter  on  the  Protection  of  Birds.  In  many  sections 
of  our  country  much  work  is  being  done  along  this  line.  Not  only 
are  means  used  that  our  wild  song  and  insectivorous  and  granivorous 
birds  may  increase  in  their  native  woodlands  and  fields,  but  experiments 
are  being  tried  out  for  the  propagation  of  song  birds,  under  more  or 
less  artificial  conditions;  water-fowl  are  being  reared  in  large  numbers 
in  certain  places  that  have  been  prepared  with  this  end  in  view;  and 
game  birds  of  native  and  imported  species  are  being  propagated  under 
natural  and  artificial  conditions  as  never  before.  In  the  introduction 
to  his  excellent  book  entitled,  "The  Propagation  of  Wild  Birds."  Mr. 
Herbert  K.  Job,  Economic  Ornithologist  in  Charge  of  the  Department 
of  Applied  Ornithology  of  the  National  Association  of  Audubon  Societies, 
has  said,  "The  actual  propagation  of  edible  species  for  purposes  of 
food  or  financial  profit  is  receiving  a  great  impetus  these  days,  and 
is  becoming  an  important  industry.  Wild  Ducks  and  Pheasants  are 
raised  in  large  numbers  for  the  market.  Farmers  and  youths  are  begin- 
ning to  propagate  'game'  as  a  side  line  for  profit,  and  in  some  cases  add 
neat  sums  to  their  incomes.  To  supply  the  wide  demand  for  breeding- 
stock  people  here  and  there  are  beginning  to  experiment  with  vari-us 
species,  often  with  considerable  success.  Such  efforts  will  also  help 
'M  extend  the  range  and  increase  the  numbers  of  these  birds.  Farmers 
cm  make  it  a  source  of  revenue  to  protect  or  propagate  game  on  their 
iand  either  for  purposes  of  sale  or  to  lease  out  the  hunting  privilege." 
In  going  over  the  interesting  pages  of  the  book  from  which  the  quota- 
tion has  just  been  given,  I  have  been  amazed  at  the  evidences  of  progress 
that  is  being  made  along  the  lines  of  rearing  many  kinds  of  birds  under 
special  natural  and  artificial  care.  An  entire  chapter,  and  that  not  a 
brief  one,  is  given  to  Quail  propagation  methods,  and  in  this  chapter  it 
is  clearly  shown  how  the  Bob-white  may  be  reared  in  captivity,  though 
it  was  once  thought  that  this  was  impossible.  In  many  places  these 
birds  are  increasing  rapidly  in  their  native  fields  because  of  the  ade- 
quate protection  given  them  and  in  other  places  many  are  being  reared 
by  artificial  process.  It  is  very  interesting  to  see,  now-a-days,  pictures 
in  the  various  ornithological  publications  of  great  covies  of  Bob-whites 
that  have  been  reared  in'  this  fashion.  Some  of  the  western  Quail  are 
propagated  in  the  same  manner.  The  Ruffed  Grouse,  that  fine  game 
bird  originally  so  common  among  our  West  Virginia  hills,  is  now  being 
propagated  in  captivity.  Of  this  species  Mr.  Job  says,  in  the  volume 
referred  to  above,  "The  wild,  whirring  creature  of  the  forest,  self-reliant 
through  its  constant  battle  with  innumerable  dangers,  is  hardly  recog- 
nifcttble  as  the  same  when  it  learns  to  know  man  as  a  friend.  It  seems 
characteristic  of  birds  of  this  family  to  be  capable  of  most  remarkable 
tajmeness,  in  contrast  to  the  susposedly  incurable  wildness  of  their  na- 
tuiv.  From  the  standpoint  of  Applied  Ornithology  they  form  a  unique 
ana  peculiarly  interesting  group.  ******  Tne  general  im- 
pression of  the  whole  tribe,  from  the  standpoint  of  artificial  propagation, 


Fo;;n  <>K  WEST  Vim. IMA  BIRDS  27 


is  ihat  Grouse  are  peculiar  birds,  rather  difficelt  to  keep  protractedly 
in  Confinement  owing  to  peculiar  habits,  and  particularly  their  decided 
liability  to  epidemic  diseases."  In  the  paragraphs  that  follow  this  one, 
Mi.  Job  speaks  of  his  success  and  the  success  of  others  in  rearing  the 
captive  Ruffed  Grouse.  The  Wild  Turkeys,  various  kinds  of  imported 
Pheasants,  other  imported  game  birds,  many  kinds  of  Ducks,  Geese  and 
Swans,  as  well  as  other  kinds  of  wild  birds  are  now  artificially  propa- 
gated with  marked  success,  and  the  rearing  of  these  birds  bids  fair  to 
develop  into  a  very  profitable  industry.  This  phase  of  Economic  Orni- 
thology is  very  important  since  it  is  quite  possible  that  birds  desirable, 
for  food  may  be  so  increased  in  numbers  as  to  furnish  large  quantities 
of  healthful  and  delicious  meat  to  the  general  dietary. 

Provide   Nesting  Sites. 

It  is  said  cf  Barcn  Vcn  Berlepsch  that  when  a  boy  in  Germany,  he 
"noticed  that  the  bird-houses  then  put  up  for  birds  were  seldom  occupied, 
and  he  began  to  inquire  the  reason  and  to  make  careful  studies  and 
experiments  in  methods  of  attracting  birds.  These  studies  led  to 
journeys  all  over  the  world.  For  years  he  has  been  carrying  on  experi- 
ments on  his  estates  with  surprising  results.  Of  about  500  acres,  19  are 
in  a  park,  60  are  laid  out  in  thickets,  and  400  are  in  woodland.  There  is 
also  a  lake  which  attracts  water-birds.  In  an  area  of  12  or  13  acres  of 
park  upwards  of  500  pairs  of  birds  regularly  nest,  not  including  a  colony 
of  over  100  nests  of  house  martins  on  a  barn.  About  300  nesting-boxes 
in  the  park  are  all  occupied.  In  the  woods  there  are  about  2,000  boxes, 
of  which  about  90  per  cent  regularly  have  tenants."  This  is  a  striking 
illustration  of  what  may  be  done  in  attracting  the  birds  by  providing 
them  with  proper  feeding  and  nesting  places.  In  many  places  in  this 
country  experiments  somewhat  similar  to  those  of  Baron  Von  Berlepsch 
are  being  carried  on,  though  usually  on  a  much  smaller  scale.  In  every 
case,  so  far  as  I  know,  good  results  have  followed,  and  when  nesting- 
boxes  have  been  placed  in  proper  positions  for  the  birds  they  have  come 
and  occupied  them.  So  interesting  and  helpful  are  the  chapters  in  "Wild 
Bird  Guests"  by  Ernest  Harold  Baynes,  that  I  quote  several  paragraphs 
from  his  chapter  on  "The  Bird  Lover  as  a  Landlord."  His  suggestions 
are  as  follows:  "I  doubt  if  it  ever  occurs  to  the  average  person  that 
birds  are  actually  in  need  of  nesting  sites.  Of  course  there  are  thousands 
of  people  who  believe  that  it  is  a  good  thing  to  encourage  Bluebirds  and 
Tree  Swallows  and  Wrens  by  puting  up  nesting-boxes  in  the  gardens  and 
orchards,  but  most  of  them  do  it  chiefly  because  it  is  interesting  and 
delightful  to  have  the  birds  about.  A  few  go  as  far  as  to  plant  shrub- 
bery in  the  hope  that  Catbirds  and  Song  Sparrows  and  a  few  others  will 
make  their  homes  in  it.  But  they  rarely  do  this  because  they  think  the 
birds  need  it.  As  they  look  out  over  the  country  side  and  see  all  the 
trees  and  bushes,  it.  seems  as  if  the  birds  had  far  more  nesting  sites  than 
they  could  possibly  use  and  the  fact  that  so  many  of  these  trees  and 
shrubs  are  not  used  by  the  birds,  seems  to  confirm  the  opinion.  The 
chances  are,  however,  that  many  of  these  apparently  good  nesting-sites 
are  unused  for  the  very  simple  reason  that  they  are  not  what  the  birds 


L'.S 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIKGIMA  BIRDS  29 

require,  and  that  they  would  riot  even  appear  to  be  suitable  if  we  knew  a 
little  more  about  the  real  tastes  and  preferences  of  birds.  Perhaps  no 
other  man  has  given  so  much  good  thought  to  this  subject  as  Baron  Hans 
Von  Berlepsch,  whose  estate,  "Seebach,"  near  Essen,  Germany,  has 
become  world  famous  as  a  paradise  for  birds.  As  a  result  of  the  study 
he  has  given  to  the  likes  and  dislikes  of  his  feathered  guests  in  the  matter 
of  nesting  sites,  he  has  a  thousand  birds  nesting  on  the  twelve  or  thirteen 
acres  immediately  surrounding  his  castle,  every  year,  and  thousands 
more  in  the  woods  beyond.  And  it  has  paid  him  to  study  the  comfort  of 
his  guests,  for  they  have  become  a  power  for  good.  When  an  insect  plague 
swept  over  that  section  of  the  country  some  years  ago,  "Seebach"  was 
the  one  green  spot  left  on  the  face  of  the  landscape;  it  stood  out  like 
an  oasis  in  the  desert.  And  all  because  a  thousand  birds,  with  perhaps 
two  thousand  hungry  babies  to  feed,  showed  that  insect  destroyers  of 
vegetation  can  be  made  to  serve  a  very  useful  purpose." 

Destroying    Harmful   Species. 

Among  the  tigers  of  India  there  a^e  certain  individuals  which  become 
man-eaters;  among  dogs  there  are  certain  individuals  that  acquire  the 
habit  of  killing  sheep;  among  Hawks  and  Owls  there  are  some  birds 
that  have  the  habit  of  killing  poultry  and  there  are  a  few  species  that 
make  poultry  and  game  birds  the  chief  part  of  their  daily  diet.  As 
these  criminals  among  birds  and  other  animals  are  discovered  they 
should  be  killed  or  otherwise  disposed  of.  Some  individuals  among  the 
Hawks  and  Owls  become  very  destructive  and  should  be  dealt  with 
accordingly.  Other  birds,  too,  beside  the  Hawks  and  Owls  are  harmful  or 
at  least  partly  so.  Many  of  our  very  useful  birds  have  harmful  tenden- 
cies, and  these  should  be  restricted  at  various  times  and  in  a  reasonable 
manner.  Perhaps  the  only  birds  in  West  Virginia  that  really  do  more 
harm  than  good  are  the  Cooper's  Hawk,  the  Sharp-shinned  Hawk  and 
the  English  Sparrow.  These  two  Hawks  should  be  shot  wherever  seen 
destroying  chickens  or  game  birds,  and  other  Hawks  that  may  acquire 
this  bad  habit  should  be  destroyed.  Yet  it  must  be  remembered  that  we 
have  useful  Hawks  as  well  as  harmful  ones  and  this  should  warn  us  not 
to  encourage  the  indiscriminate  slaughter  of  every  kind  of  Hawk  that 
may  come  within  gun-shot.  Only  the  two  destructive  species  should 
be  killed,  though  it  is  not  illegal  to  kill  the  others.  Perhaps  our  worst 
pests  among  the  birds  are  the  ever-increasing  hosts  of  English  Sparrows. 
It  is  not  safe  to  poisbn  them  as  is  sometimes  recommended.  Useful 
species  may  be  destroyed  by  the  poison  that  is  put  out  for  the  English 
Sparrows.  Perhaps  the  best  method  of  destroying  these  alien  birds  is 
to  tear  down  their  nests.  Persistent  efforts  along  this  line  will  result 
in  lessening  greatly  their  numbers.  When  the  Sparrows  have  formed 
the  habit  of  eating  the  young  pea  vines  in  the  garden  they  may  be  caught 
by  baiting  the  ordinary  mouse-traps  with  bread  crumbs  and  setting  them 
out  for  the  birds.  I  have  destroyed  them  in  considerable  numbers  in  this 
way.  Of  course  they  may  be  driven  away  by  shooting.  It  is  time  that 
all  possible  methods  were  used  for  their  destruction  since  they  are  a 
great  pest  and  drive  away  many  of  our  own  native  birds. 


FOOD  OK   \VEST  VUK;IMA  BIROS 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIBGINIA  BIRDS  31 

CHAPTER  IV. 
HAWKS,  OWLS  AND  VULTURES. 

Birds  of  Prey. 

The  carnivorous,  or  flesh-eating,  birds  are  called  birds  of  prey.  Their 
food  consists  almost  altogether  of  animal  matter  of  some  sort,  the  Hawks 
and  Owls  feeding  upon  mammals,  birds,  reptiles  and  insects  which  they 
catch  in  swift  flight  and  kill  with  powerful  beak  and  talons,  and  the 
Vultures  feeding  upon  decaying  animal  matter.  In  our  State  we  have 
a  good  representation  of  the  Hawk  and  Owl  families,  but  only  one  Vulture, 
the  Turkey  Vulture.  The  economic  value  of  these  birds  has  been  dis- 
cussed briefly  in  a  previous  chapter,  and  it  remains  now  only  to  look 
a  little  more  carefully  to  the  food  habits  of  these  birds  whose  status  is 
so  often  called  in  question. 

The  Vultures. 

Only  three  species  of  Vultures  are  found  in  North  America,  and  only 
one  in  West  Virginia.  This  is  the  well  known  and  very  useful  Turkey 
Vulture,  or  "Turkey  Buzzard."  In  all  that  great  section  of  the  State 
that  lies  east  of  the  mountains  this  species  is  very  abundant,  and,  on  a 
summer  day,  one  can  scarcely  glance  upward  without  seeing  one  or 
more  of  these  graceful  birds  flying  in  lazy  circling  manner  high  over- 
head. Sometimes  scores  may  be  seen  at  one  glance  .  I  have  seen 
almost  a  hundred  at  one  time,  as  they  gathered  around  the  carcass  of 
some  dead  animal  or  assembled  in  great  flocks  after  the  nesting  season. 
One  morning,  about  the  20th  of  August,  1914,  Mr.  King  and  I  counted 
ninety-one  of  these  great  birds  in  two  trees  in  a  field  near  Scherr,  Grant 
County.  A  little  earlier  in  the  same  month  I  visited  the  nesting  site 
of  a  pair  of  these  birds  in  the  rugged  mountain  region  along  the  Great 
Cacapon  River  in  Morgan  County.  In  the  central  and  western  parts  of 
the  State  these  birds  are  rather  rare,  much  more  so  than  formerly.  Along 
the  Ohio  River  they  are  exceedingly  rare.  Their  food  consists  mostly 
of  carrion  and  other  refuse  matter.  Of  course,  so  far  as  they  act  as 
scavengers,  their  feeding  habits  are  altogether  beneficial.  In  some  places 
the  work  of  Vultures  is  almost  indispensable  to  the  comfort  and  health  of 
the  community.  However,  this  charge  has  been  raised  against  them 
that  they  scatter,  from  one  locality  to  another,  the  germs  of  hog  cholera 
and  other  infectious  diseases  from  which  domestic  animals  die.  If  this 
be  true,  and  there  is  good  evidence  that  it  is  true,  these  birds  may  be 
capable  of  doing  great  harm  in  spreading  contagious  diseases  from  one 
neighborhood  to  another  as  they  travel  about  on  their  strong  wings 
in  search  of  food.  Yet  I  do  not  believe  that  these  birds  ought  to  be  con- 
demned until  more  evidence  is  gathered  along  this  line,  and  I  am  sure 
they  should  be  protected  carefully  because  of  their  help  in  promoting 
general  cleanliness. 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIKCIXIA  BIRDS 


The  Hawks  and  Eagles. 

Our  catalogue  of  West  Virginia  Hawks  and  Eagles  includes  sixteen 
species.  These  are  all  birds  of  considerable  size,  the  smallest  being 
the  Sparrow  Hawk  and  the  largest  being  the  Eagles.  Some  of  these 
species,  such  as  the  Swallow-tailed  Kite,  Goshawk,  Swainson's  Hawk, 
Golden  Eagle,  Bald  Eagle  and  Pigeon  Hawk,  are  exceedingly  rare;  three 
others  are  not  seen  very  often — the  Rough-legged  Hawk,  Duck  Hawk  and 
Osprey  or  Fish  Hawk;  while  the  others  are  usually  quite  common.  The 
seven  more  common  species,  the  Marsh  Hawk,  Sharp-shinned  Hawk, 
Cooper's  Hawk,  Red-tailed  Hawk,  Red-Shouldered  Hawk,  Broad-winged 
Hawk  and  Sparrovv  Hawk,  ought  to  be  studied  very  carefully,  i'c  is 
a  common  custom  among  farmers'  boys,  hunters  and  every  one  who  is 
permitted  to  carry  a  gun  to  shoot  Hawks  indiscriminately  and  to  execute 
summary  vengeance  upon  every  bird  that  belongs  to  this  family.  This  ( 
may  be  legal,  but  it  is  wrong.  In  this  entire  family,  so  far  as  it  is 
represented  in  West  Virginia,  there  are  only  three  really  harmful  species. 
These  are  the  Sharp-shinned  Hawk,  Cooper's  Hawk  and  Goshawk.  As 
has  been  said,  the  Goshawk  is  very  rare.  These  three  species  are  slender, 
swift-winged  birds,  sometimes  known  as  "Blue  Hawks"  because  of  their 
bluish-gray  colors.  They  are  often  called  "Chicken  Hawks"  because  they 
are  the  most  destructive  of  all  the  Hawks  that  frequent  our  poultry 
yards.  When  these  three  destructive  species  can  be  distinguished  from 
the  beneficial  species  they  should  be  shot,  but  it  is  bad  economy  to 
shcot  many  of  our  helpful  Hawks  for  the  sake  of  getting  rid  of  a  com- 
paratively few  harmful  ones.  That  large  Hawk  which  we  so  often  see 
sailing  high  in  the  air  in  slow  and  graceful  curves,  the  bird  that  we 
commonly  call  "Hen-Hawk,"  is  the  Red-tailed  Hawk.  The  appropriate- 
ness of  this  name  may  be  seen  by  a  glance  at  the  tail  of  the  male  bird. 
Of  this  species  Dr.  A.  K.  Fisher,  our  best  authority  on  the  food  of  the 
Hawks  and  Eagles,  has  said,  "Wlhile  fully  66%  of  the  Red-tails'  food 
consists  of  injurious  mammals,  not  more  than  7%  consists 
of  poultry,  and  it  is  probable  that  a  large  proportion  of  the 
poultry  and  game  captured  by  it  and  the  other  Buzzard  Hawks  is  made 
up  of  old,  diseased  or  otherwise  disabled  fowls,  so  preventing  their  inter- 
breeding with  the  sound  stock  and  hindering  the  spread  of  fatal  epi- 
demics." Dr.  Fisher  further  says,  in  his  Hawks  and  Owls  of  the  United 
States,  that  "G^  E&2  stomachs  examined  by  the  author,  54  contained 
poultry,  or  game  birds;  51,  other  birds;  278,  mice;  131,  other  mammals; 
37,  batrachians  and  reptiles;  47,  insects;  8,  crawfish;  13,  offal;  and 
89  were  empty."  By  this  it  may  be  seen  that  not  more  than  10%  of 
the  food  of  these  large  Hawks  is  made  up  of  poultry  and  game  birds. 
Many  obnoxious  mammals  are  destroyed  by  them.  The  little,  vari- 
colored Sparrow  Hawk  may  be  taken  as  an  illustration  of  the  good  done 
by  certain  members  of  this  family.  Though  its  name  may  seem  to  indi- 
cate that  it  lives  on  some  of  our  useful  American  Sparrows,  the  truth 
of  the  matter  is  that  not  more  than  16%  of  the  food  of  this  Hawk  is 
made  up  of  our  small  wild  birds.  During  the  summer  it  feeds  largely 
on  such  insects  as  grasshoppers,  crickets  and  spiders,  and  in  the  winter 
it  subsists  largely  on  mice.  When  Dr.  Fisher  examined  320  stomachs 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS  33 


Photo  by   Fred  E.   Brooks 
Cliff  of  rocks  in  which  Duck  Hawks  nest. 


34  FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS 

he  found  that  215  of  them  contained  insects.  Strange  as  it  may  seem 
many  of  our  agriculturists  are  not  willing  to  count  the  almost  inestimable 
good  that  these  birds  do  when  they  remember  that  some  members  of 
the  Hawk  family  have  the  bad  habit  of  killing  a  few  birds  or  chickens. 
The  Marsh  Hawk  should  not  be  forgotten  in  a  survey  of  this  family 
since  it  does  great  good  in  destroying  large  numbers  of  meadow  mice 
in  the  fields  over  which  it  delights  to  hunt.  The  Broad-winged  Hawk 
is  another  species  that  catches  large  numbers  of  mice,  other  mammals 
and  insects.  It  is  not  so  common  as  some  of  our  other  Hawks,  yet 
along  the  base  of  Black  Mountain,  in  Pocahontas  County,  I  have  found 
numbers  of  these  birds.  The  other  rare  Hawks,  mentioned  above,  need 
not  be  discussed  for  they  are  so  few  in  number  as  to  make  them  of 
little  economic  importance. 

The  Owls. 

Like  the  Hawks  the  Owls  are  under  the  ban  of  public  opinion  and 
suffer  death  from  every  boy  who  goes  out  hunting.  Only  the  other 
day  I  saw  a  fine  Barred  Owl  lodged  in  the  top  of  a  great  tree  where  he 
had  been  shot  by  a  reckless  gunner.  In  our  State  we  have  eight  kinds 
of  Owls.  They  are  the  Barn  Owl,  Long-eared  Owl,  Short-eared  Owl, 
Barred  Owl,  Saw-whet  Owl,  Screech  Owl,  Great-horned  Owl  and  Snowy 
Owl.  Of  these  the  Long-eared,  Short-eared,  Saw-whet  and  Snowy  are 
very  rare  and  not  one  of  the  four  has  been  reported  more  than  three 
times  from  all  localities  in  West  Virginia.  The  Short-eared  Owl 
and  Long-eared  Owl  are  two  species  of  moderate  size;  the  Saw-whet  Owl 
is  a  diminutive  northern  species  that  has  been  found  a  few  times  along 
the  higher  Alleghenies  in  winter  time.  My  most  authentic  record  was 
made  by  Charles  O.  Handley  at  Lewisburg  on  Dec.  26,  1914.  The  Snowy 
Owl  is  a  large  white  bird  that  has  been  found  a  very  few  times  within 
our  borders.  Not  long  ago  in  reading  the  works  of  Alexander  Wilson, 
one  of  our  greatest  American  ornithologists,  I  found  this  interesting 
record  in  the  story  of  a  trip  down  the  Ohio  River  made  a  few  years 
ago,  and  containing  several  references  to  the  Snowy  Owl — "At  a  place 
on  the  Ohio  called  Long  Reach  I  examined  another  bird  which  was  the 
first  ever  recollected  to  have  been  seen  there."  Of  the  more  common 
Owls,  the  Barn  Owl  is  the  most  rare,  but  the  others  are  found  in  great 
abundance.  The  little  Screech  Owl,  in  its  two  color  phases,  is  very 
common  throughout  our  State.  Of  this  bird  Dr.  Henshaw  says,  "Out 
of  324  stomachs  examined,  169  were  found  to  contain  insects;  142,  small 
mammals;  56,  birds;  and  15,  crawfish.  The  Screech  Owl  should  be  en- 
couraged to  stay  near  barns  and  outhouses,  as  it  will  keep  in  check  house 
mice  and  wood  mice,  which  frequent  such  places."  The  Great-horned 
Owl  is  common  in  all  parts  of  our  State  though  less  so  in  the  moun- 
tains. Of  all  our  birds,  with  the  possible  exception  of  the  Sharp-shinned 
Hawk  and  Cooper's  Hawk,  the  Great  Horned  Owl  is  most  destructive 
to  poultry.  Since  this  bird  is  so  large  and  strong  even  turkeys  are 
taken,  and  this  bird  is  one  of  the  worst  enemies  of  the  Wild  Turkey. 
In  the  mountains  the  Barred  Owl  is  the  most  abundant  member  of  the 
family.  In  camping  out  in  many  sections  of  this  State  I'  have  frequently 


FOOD  or  WEST  VIKGINIA  BIRDS  35 

heard  some  of  the  startling  calls  of  this  weird  bird  of  the  night.  Oc- 
casionally I  have  heard  its  short,  sharp  hoot  in  the  day  time.  Like  the 
other  Owls  the  Barred  feeds  largely  upon  small  mammals  and  insects. 
In  the  region  of  the  Cranberry  Glades,  Pocahontas  County,  I,  with  the 
help  of  others,  have  carried  on  very  interesting  ecological  studies. 
Since  this  glady  region  abounds  in  cranberries  and  other  small  fruits 
that  grow  on  or  near  the  ground  many  mice  and  other  small  mammals 
are  there  in  large  numbers.  These  small  mammals  attract  the  Owls,  and 
they  are  most  noticeably  abundant  throughout  all  that  section.  Many  a 
time  have  I  heard  the  cries  of  Owls  during  the  night  as  I  have  slept  out 
around  the  edge  of  these  glades.  Wherever  mice  and  other  small  mam- 
mals abound  the  Owls  are  present  in  large  numbers.  Owls,  contrary  to 
public  opinion,  should  be  carefully  protected,  with  the  possible  exception 
of  the  Great  Horned  Owl.  The  others  are  rather  useful  than  harmful, 
some  of  them  being  most  beneficial. 


36  FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS 

CHAPTER  V. 
BOBWHITE,  GROUSE  AND  WILD  TURKEY. 

Game   Birds. 

We  are  particularly  interested  in  some  of  our  birds  because  of  the 
food  they  eat,  but  our  interest  in  the  Game  Birds  arises  from  the  food 
they  supply.  The  group  of  Game  Birds  affords  an  illustration  of  the 
manifold  usefulness  of  birds.  Though  other  species  are  of  untold  utility 
because  of  their  help  in  combatting  some  of  the  plagues  of  the  agricul- 
tural world,  these  fine  birds  help  in  a  more  direct  way  to  supply  our 
food  by  furnishing  their  own  flesh.  The  time  was,  not  many  years  ago, 
when  the  wild  game  birds  and  mammals  contributed  very  largely  to  the 
larder  of  the  pioneer  settlers  in  this  country.  I  have  heard  persons 
say  that  they  could  remember  very  well  the  time  when  so  many  Wild 
Turkeys  were  brought  in  at  the  end  of  a  little  hunting  trip  that  the 
entire  family  could  not  make  use  of  them.  Only  a  few  generations 
ago  wild  game  of  many  kinds  abounded  in  this  part  of  the  country.  With 
proper  protection  and  care  our  Game  birds  might  become  very  common 
once  more,  and  furnish  much  pleasure  to  the  hunter  and  food  to  the 
hungry.  Our  thousands  of  acres  of  rough  untillable  land  here  in  West 
Virginia  furnish  ideal  conditions  for  the  natural  propagation  of  our  native 
Game  Birds.  In  so  many  sections  there  are  now  large  tracts  of  moun- 
tain land  that  have  been  cut  over  by  lumbermen  or  burned  over  by 
forest  fires.  In  these  places  tangles  and  dense  thickets  of  shrubbery 
and  vines  are  springing  up.  These  afford  good  shelter,  refuge  and  food 
for  these  birds.  If  we  can  hereafter  control  our  forest  fires,  especially 
in  the  spring  when*  the  Wild  Turkey  and  Ruffed  Grouse  are  nesting, 
if  we  can  control  some  of  their  natural  enemies  and  fine  or  imprison 
some  of  their  human  enemies  till  they  learn  the  lesson  of  game  pro- 
tection, these  birds  will  increase  rapidly  and  become  quite  common 
once  more.  West  Virginia  should  bcome  a  veritable  paradise  for  Game 
Birds,  and,  no  doubt,  with  the  enforcement  of  our  laws,  an  awakened 
public  conscience  and  educated  public  sentiment,  these  birds  may  yet 
be  saved  from  extinction  in  our  forests  and  may  become  almost  as 
common  as  in  other  years. 

Bob  White. 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  bird  in  all  America  more  generally  known  than 
the  attractive  and  beneficial  Bobwhite.  As  a  game  bird  it  is  without 
a  peer.  Though  small  in  size  it  is  quite  abundant  when  properly  pro- 
tected, and  its  flesh  is  one  of  the  favorite  foods  of  the  epicurean.  Et 
might  be  a  provident  source  of  food  for  all  the  people  if  it  were  allowed 
to  increase  as  nature  would  have  it.  That  my  readers  may  know  the 
great  value  of  this  little  Game  Bird  I  quote  at  some  length  from  Harold 
Baynes'  new  book,  Wild  Bird  Guests.  In  his  chapter  on  the  Economic 
Reasons  for  the  Protection  of  Birds  Mr.  Baynes  says,  of  the  Bobwhite, 
"They  are  wonderful  destroyers  of  potatoe  bugs,  and  if  encouraged  to 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS  37 

nest  in  the  fields  and  fence  corners,  no  Paris  green  need  be  used  on 
the  potato  crops.  On  locusts  they  work  just  as  well.  Professor  Aughey 
found  in  the  stomachs  of  twenty-one  quail,  539  of  these  insects,  an 
average  of  twenty-five  apiece,  and  that  only  a  part  of  one  day's  work. 
These  birds  also  eat  large  numbers  of  chinch  bugs,  cotton  worms,  cotton- 
boll  weevils,  cucumber  beetles,  May  beetles,  leaf  beetles,  clover-leaf 
beetles,  corn-hill  bugs,  wire  worms,  cutworms,  ants,  flies  and  many 
other  insect  pests.  And  being  birds  of  good  size  they  require  large 
quantities  of  such  food.  As  destroyers  of  weed  seeds  they  stand  as  high 
if  not  higher.  Forbush  states  that  they  eat  the  seeds  of  over  sixty  differ- 
ent kinds  of  weeds,  those  of  ragweed  seeming  to  be  the  favorite.  The 
same  authority  tells  us  that  'as  many  as  two  or  three  hundred  seeds  of 
smartweed,  five  hundred  of  the  red  sorrel,  seven  hundred  of  the  three- 
seeded  mercury,  and  one  thousand  of  the  ragweed  have  been  eaten  at  a 
meal.'  Dr.  Judd  gives  even  stronger  testimony  in  favor  of  these  birds 
when  he  tells  us  that  five  thousand  seeds  of  green  foxtail  and  ten 
thousand  of  pigweed  have  been  found  in  a  single  bird.  He  estimates 
that  from  June  1st  to  August  1st  in  the  two  states  of  Virginia  and 
North  Carolina  alone,  bobwhites  eat  1341  tons  of  weed  seeds  and  340 
tons  of  insects.  When  to  all  this  is  added  the  aesthetic  value  of  this 
gentle  bird,  whose  cherry  voice  thrills  all  to  whom  it  Is  familiar,  we 
see  that  to  kill  a  quail  and  serve  it  on  toast  is  to  realize  but  a  very 
small  part  of  what  it  is  worth." 

Ruffed   Grouse. 

Several  kinds  of  Grouse  are  to  be  found  in  various  parts  of  this  country, 
but  only  one  occurs  within  the  limits  of  our  State.  This  is  the  Ruffed 
Grouse,  called  "Pheasant"  by  many  West  Virginians  and  "Partridge" 
by  persons  from  farther  north,  though  this  last  name  is  usually  applied 
to  the  Bobwhite  in  this  section.  Like  our  other  Game  Birds  the  Ruffed 
Grouse  has  decreased  greatly  in  numbers  during  the  past  few  years, 
though  it  may  be  found  in  most  localities  throughout  the  State.  Along 
the  Ohio  Valley  this  species  is  very  rare,  but  in  the  hilly  region,  the 
plateau  and  mountain  regions  of  West  Virginia  it  is  rather  common, 
where  there  are  extended  forests.  The,  flesh  of  this  bird  is  of  excellent 
quality,  and  is  much  sought  for  by  those  who  prize  such  delicacies.  Of 
its  food  Ernest  Thompson  Seton  says,  "The  food  of  this  Grouse  is  largely 
insects  and  berries  during  the  summer;  in  the  autumn  it  adds  seeds  to 
the  list,  and  when  the  ground  is  covered  with  snow  the  staples  are 
catkins,  leaves,  and  buds."  About  the  glade  regions  of  West  Virginia 
this  Grouse  is  often  found  feeding  among  the  alders  and  the  ground 
hemlocks  that  are  found  along  the  edges  of  the  great  swamps. 

I 
Wild   Turkey. 

Frank  M.  Chapman  speaks  of  the  Wild  Turkey  as  "the  noblest  of 
American  birds."  Those  who  have  seen  this  fine  bird  in  his  native 
forests  are  willing  to  testify  to  the  correctness  of  this  estimate.  No 
more  splendid  bird  is  found  anywhere  in  all  our  country  than  the 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIKGIMA  BIEDS 


Wild  Turkey.  It  is  the  Game  Bird  par  excellence.  In  some  places 
in  West  Virginia  flocks  of  considerable  size  may  yet  be  found,  and  in 
a  few  localities  it  is  really  quite  common.  However,  in  most  places  it 
is  approaching  extinction,  and,  if  it  is  not  carefully  protected  in  the 
coming  years,  all  will  be  gone  from  the  entire  State.  In  some  places 
the  Wild  Turkey  is  being  propagated  artificially  with  considerable  suc- 
cess, and  i-  other  places  their  numbers  are  being  greatly  augmented 
by  setting  aside  forest  reservations  and  making  game  preserves,  in  estab- 
lishing a  closed  season  for  this  species  and  in  ridding  the  country  of  their 
natural  enemies.  Forest  fires  do  much  to  deplete  the  number  of  Wild 
Turkeys,  since  their  eggs  are  often  destroyed  in  this  way.  The  food 
of  the  Wild  Turkey  is  much  the  same  as  that  of  the  domesticated  species 
and  consists  in  large  measure  of  grasshoppers,  cicada  and  other  large 
insects  and  of  grain  gathered  up  in  cut-over  harvest  fields,  but  the  chief 
economic  value  of  this  bird  consists  in  the  supply  of  excellent  food 
which  it  furnishes  the  hunter. 


Photo    by    Charles    O.    Handley 
Male  Flicker  near  nest. 


FOOD  OK  WEST  VISGINIA  BIBDS 


CHAPTER  VI. 
THE   WOODPECKERS. 

Woodpecker  Characteristics. 

Of  this  large  family  of  highly  specialized  birds  Mr.  Frank  M.  Chap- 
man, in  his  very  valuable  and  comprehensive  book,  Hand-Book  of  Birds 
of  Eastern  North  America,  says.  "Woodpeckers  occur  in  all  wooded  parts 
of  the  world,  except  in  the  Australian  region  and  Madagascar.  Some 
three  hundred  and  seventy-five  species  are  known,  of  which  about  one- 
half  are  confined  to  the  New  World.  Twenty-four  of  this  number  are 
found  in  North  America.  Woodpeckers  are  rather  solitary  birds,  but 
are  sometimes  found  associated  in  scattered  companies  during  their 
migrations.  Above  all  other  birds  they  are  especially  adapted  to  climb 
or  creep.  The  peculiar  structure  of  the  foot,  with  its  two  toes  directed 
forward  and  two  backward  (except,  in  North  America,  in  one  genus), 
assists  them  in  clinging  to  an  upright  surface,  while  the  pointed,  stiffened 
tail-feathers  serve  as  a  prop.  The  stout,  chisel-like  bill  of  the  more 
typical  species  is  used  to  cut  away  wood  and  expose  the  hiding-places 
of  grubs,  etc.;  then  the  long,  distensible  tongue  with  its  horny,  spear- 
like  tip,  is  thrust  forward,  the  food  impaled  and  drawn  out.  The  vocal 
powers  of  Woodpeckers  are  supplemented  by  the  bill  which  is  used 
to  beat  the  long,  rolling  call  forming  their  love-song."  In  West  Virginia 
we  have  at  least  seven  species  of  these  arboreal  birds.  It  is  possible 
that  one  or  two  other  members  of  this  family  may  yet  be  discovered 
within  our  State.  Those  that  have  been  observed  are  the  Hairy  Wood- 
pecker, Downy  Woodpecker,  Yellow-bellied  Sapsucker,  Northern  Pileated 
Woodpecker,  Red-headed  Woodpecker,  Red-bellied  Woodpecker  and 
Northern  Flicker.  While  in  many  respects  these  birds  resemble  one 
another  very  closely,  in  some  respects  they  are  quite  diverse.  The 
Flicker,  for  instance,  feeds  largely  upon  the  ground;  the  Red-headed 
Woodpecker  takes  most  of  its  food  in  the  air  in  true  Flycatcher  fashion; 
the  Yellow-bellied  Sapsucker  punctures  the  bark  of  many  kinds  of  forest 
and  cultivated  trees,  feeds  on  the  cambium,  drinks  the  sweet  juices 
that  flow  from  some  of  the  punctured  trees,  and  catches  the  insects  that 
come  to  drink  the  fermented  juices;  while  the  other  species  depend 
largely  upon  the  insects  which  they  dig  out  from  the  limbs  and  trunks 
of  trees.  The  Woodpeckers  have  been  called  the  carpenters  of  the 
woods,  and  the  name  is  appropriate  because  with  their  chisel-like  bills 
they  drill  deeply  into  solid  or  decaying  wood  and  extract  the  larvae 
and  other  insect  forms  that  are  lurking  there  doing  their  quiet  work 
of  destruction.  Many  persons  look  upon  the  Woodpeckers  with  some 
suspicion  since  they  are  often  seen  puncturing  trees,  eating  fruit  and 
doing  other  things  that  may  easily  be  construed  as  harmful.  However, 
we  are  not  to  judge  by  appearances,  but  by  the  facts  that  have  been 
carefully  gathered  by  investigators  trained  to  their  work.  After  exam- 
ining many  stomachs  of  birds  belonging  to  this  family,  the  Biological 
Survey  at  Washington  has  found  that  they  devour  many  wood-boring 
"beetles,  both  adults  and  larvae,  caterpillars  and  ants.  As  may  be  seen 


40  FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS 

in  the  notes  that  follow,  some  species  do  harm,  but,  as  Prof.  Beal  says, 
"These  birds  are  certainly  the  only  agents  which  can  successfully  cope 
with  certain  insect  enemies  of  the  forests,  and,  to  some  extent,  of  fruit 
trees  also.  For  this  reason,  if  for  no  other,  they  should  be  protected 
in  every  possible  way." 

Downy  and    Hairy. 

Two  of  our  smaller  Woodpeckers  are  very  similar  and  can  be  dis- 
tinguished only  with  careful  observation.  These  are  the  Hairy  and 
Downy.  The  former  is  the  larger  of  the  two  and  in  most  sections  by 
far  the  rarer,  though  in  certain  mountain  sections  of  our  State  I  have 
found  the  Hairy  Woodpecker  to  be  the  most  common  member  of  the 
family.  The  Downy  is  to  be  found  everywhere  throughout  the  State, 
common  in  the  great  forest  sections,  the  farming  regions  and  in  villages 
and  towns  alike.  It  is  not  at  all  strange  to  see  a  Downy  Woodpecker 
quite  at  home  in  the  shade  trees  along  a  busy  street.  The  food  of  these 
two  species  consists  of  such  insects  as  they  gather  from  under  the  edges 
of  the  outer  bark  of  trees  and  from  the  wood  into  which  they  make  their 
excavations.  I  have  examined  apple  trees  where  the  Downy  had  been 
working  and  found  many  scales  of  the  outer  bark  that  had  been  punc- 
tured by  these  little  Woodpeckers  in  their  search  for  the  pupae  of  the 
codling  moth.  Many  of  these  injurious  insects  are  destroyed  in  this 
way.  Both  the  Downy  and  the  Hairy  eat  wood-boring  grubs,  caterpillars, 
beetles,  ants  and  many  other  insects  that  are  found  about  the  trunks 
and  limbs  of  trees.  In  her  interesting  little  book  on  the  Woodpecker 
family  Fanny  Hardy  Eckstrom  says,  "Downy  works  at  his  self-appointed 
task  in  our  orchards  summer  and  winter  as  regular  as  a  policeman  on 
his  beat.  But  he  is  much  better  than  a  policeman,  for  he  acts  as  judge, 
jury,  jailer,  and  jail.  All  the  evidence  he  asks  against  an  insect  is  to  find 
him  loafing  about  the  premises." 

Yellow-bellied   Sapsucker. 

During  my  years  of  study  of  the  birds  of  West  Virginia  I  have  gathered 
voluminous  notes  on  the  Yellow-bellied  Sapsucker.  This  is  a  rather 
obscure  member  of  the  family,  yet  its  work  is  much  in  evidence.  Prac- 
tically every  apple  treee  in  our  orchards  shows  punctures  made  by  these 
birds,  and  many  of  the  forest  trees  have  been  marked  in  the  same  way. 
This  species  occurs  as  a  migrant  in  most  of  our  State  appearing  only 
for  a  little  while  each  spring  and  fall.  High  up  in  the  mountains  I 
have  found  it  breeding  in  the  summer.  At  several  points  I  have  found 
these  birds  nesting,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  they  nest  quite  generally 
throughout  all  the  higher  ranges  of  the  Alleghenies.  From  many  points 
of  view  this  Woodpecker  is  important  economically.  In  the  first  place 
it  is  known  to  destroy  many  forest  and  orchard  insects.  I  have  seen 
this  bird  capturing  insects  that  had  been  attracted  to  the  punctures  in 
trees  that  the  bird  had  made,  by  the  flowing  of  the  sweet  juices.  Then, 
too,  this  species  destroys  some  trees  and  does  not  a  little  damage  by 
the  punctures  it  makes.  Dr.  A.  D.  Hopkins,  who  has  made  a  special 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS  41 

study  of  the  effect  of  this  bird's  work  on  the  trees  which  it  punctures, 
says  that  the  bird's-eye  effect  in  our  maples  and  in  some  other  forest 
trees  is  caused  by  the  punctures  of  these  birds.  He  has  proven  this 
point  very  conclusively,  and,  since  this  is  true,  the  increased  value  of 
the  lumber  that  has  these  beautiful  bird's-eye  markings  goes  far 
to  make  up  the  loss  caused  by  the  punctures  in  some  other  trees.  Dr. 
Hopkins  found  in  West  Virginia  about  twenty-five  kinds  of  forest  treea 
that  had  been  punctured  by  these  Sapsuckers.  In  a  recent  article  on 
this  bird  Dr.  Henry  W^  Henshaw,  Chief  of  the  Biological  Survey,  De- 
partment of  Agriculture,  has  said,  "The  regular  girdles  of  holes  made 
by  this  bird  are  common  on  a  great  variety  of  trees;  in  all  about  250 
kinds  are  known  to  be  attacked.  Occasionally  young  trees  are  known  to 
be  killed  outright,  but  more  loss  is  caused  by  stains  and  blemishes  in 
the  wood  which  result  from  Sapsucker  punctures.  These  blemishes, 
which  are  known  as  bird  pecks,  are  especially  numerous  in  hickory, 
oak,  cypress,  and  yellow  poplar.  Defects  due  to  Sapsucker  work  cause 
an  annual  loss  to  the  lumber  industry  estimated  at  $1,250,000.  The 
food  of  the  Yellow-bellied  Sapsucker  is  about  half  animal  and  half  vege- 
table. Its  fondness  for  ants  counts  slightly  in  its  favor.'  It  eats  also 
wasps,  beetles  (including,  however,  very  few  wood-boring  species),  bugs 
and  spiders.  The  two  principal  components  of  the  vegetable  food  are  wild 
fruits  of  no  importance  and  cambium  (the  layer  just  beneath  the  bark 
of  trees).  In  securing  the  cambium  the  bird  does  the  damage  above 
described.  The  Yellow-bellied  Sapsucker,  unlike  other  Woodpeckers,  thua 
does  compartively  little  good  and  much  harm." 

Red-headed  Woodpecker. 

The  bird  that  attracted  Alexander  Wilson's  attention  to  the  birds  of 
America,  soon  after  he  came  to  our  shores,  was  the  Red-headed  Wood- 
pecker. This  is  a  bird  of  striking  colors,  and  is  a  familiar  species, 
throughout  the  State.  Like  some  other  members  of  this  family  he  has. 
been  accused  of  destructive  habits  of  some  of  which  he  is  guilty.  The 
Red-headed  Woodpecker  sometimes  injures  telephone  poles  by  drilling 
large  holes  in  them  for  nesting  purposes;  he  is  very  fond  of  the  early 
sweet  cherries  and  does  not  hesitate  to  lay  heavy  toll  on  them  in  return 
for  the  good  services  he  does  at  other  times  in  the  year;  and  he  some- 
times destroys  or  at  least  injures,  the  maturing  corn,  attacking  it  when 
it  is  "in  the  milk,"  and  for  this  purpose  opening  a  large  percentage  of 
the  ears  of  corn  in  the  fields  where  it  makes  its  devastations.  Nuts, 
are  also  eaten  by  this  Woodpecker,  though  not  to  a  harmful  extent.  To 
counterbalance  this  harm  done,  this  bird  destroys  many  beetles,  grass- 
hoppers and  other  insects.  Most  of  these  are  taken  on  the  wing  in  real 
Flycatcher  fashion. 

'> 
The  Flicker. 

Another  important  member  of  this  family  is  the  Northern  Flicker.  la 
different  localities  in  this  country  this  bird  bears  different  names. 
Among  those  that  are  in  most  common  use  are,  "Yellow  Hammer,'* 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRMXIA  BIHU.S 


"Golden-winged  Woodpecker,"  "Partridge  Woodpecker,"  "High-hole"  and 
"High-holder."  Throughout  West  Virginia  the  name  in  most  common 
use  is  "Yellow  Hammer."  Often  as  one  walks  along  the  paths  in  an 
old  field  he  may  be  frightened  by  the  sudden  fluttering  of  wings  as 
a  Flicker  flies  up  from  the  ground  where  he  has  been  gathering  his  food. 
As  every  observing  farmer's  boy  has  learned,  the  "Yellow  Hammers" 
feed  largely  on  the  ground  where  they  gather  great  quantities  of  ants 
and  other  insects.  It  has  been  found  that  fully  45%  of  the  food  of  this 
bird  consists  of  ants.  Some  wild  fruit  is  eaten  and,  occasionally,  culti- 
vated varieties  are  taken.  Mrs.  Florence  Merriam  Bailey  says  in  her 
interesting  pamphlet  entitled  Hoiv  Birds  Affect  the  Farm  and  Garden, 
"Nearly  half  of  the  food  of  the  Flicker  is  ants.  Three  thousand  were 
found  in  one  stomach.  As  ants  spread  plant  lice,  destroy  timber  and 
infest  houses,  the  Flicker  is  certainly  a  useful  bird.  It  does  good  work 
in  other  ways  also.  Like  many  innocent  birds,  the  Flicker  has  been 
accused  of  corn-eating,  but  only  five  out  of  230  stomachs  contained  corn. 
Prof.  Beal,  having  spoken  of  the  good  work  the  Woodpeckers  did  in 
Newbraska  at  the  time  of  the  Grasshopper  devastation,  says  of  the 
Downy,  Hairy  and  Flicker:  'Not  one  of  the  trio  shows  a  questionable 
trait,  and  they  should  be  protected  and  encouraged  in  every  possible 
way.' " 


Photo    by    Charles    O.    Handley 
Cranberry  Glades  where  Alder  Flycatchers  nest. 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIBDS  43 

CHAPTER   VII. 

NIGHTHAWKS,  SWIFTS  AND  FLYCATCHERS. 

j 
Some  Aerial   Species. 

The  Nighthawks, '  Swifts  and  Flycatchers  are  all  more  or  less  aerial 
and  take  their  food  on  the  wing.  The  first  two  families  are  very  dis- 
tinctively birds  of  the  air,  and  spend  most  of  their  time  flying  about. 
Three  members  of  the  Nighthawk  or  "Goatsucker"  family  are  found 
in  West  Virginia.  They  are  the  Nighthawk,  Chuck-will's-widow  and 
Whip-poor-will.  These  birds  are  peculiarly  well  adapted  to  their  work 
as  insect  hunters,  their  mouths  being  very  capacious,  their  gullets  large, 
and  their  stomachs  enormous.  They  take  their  food  on  the  wing.  The 
Chimney  Swift,  our  only  representative  of  the  Swift  family,  spends 
practically  all,  its  time  in  the  air  and  is  a  great  destroyer  of  harmful 
insects.  The  Flycatchers,  a  large  family  of  birds  that  is  well  represented 
in  our  State,  are  also  insectivorous  and  take  their  food  as  they  fly  hur- 
riedly through  the  air  in  pursuit  of  their  fleet-winged  prey.  These 
families  will  be  described  in  the  paragraphs  that  follow. 

Goatsuckers. 

The  Goatsuckers,  as  the  family  of  Nighthawks  and  Whip-poor-wills 
is  sometimes  called,  are  large  birds  with  strong  wings  and  an  almost 
inexhaustible  capacity  for  their  insect  food.  While  few  in  number  of 
species,  they  are  many  in  number  of  individuals,  though  one  of  our 
species,  the  Chuck-will's-widow  has  been  found  but  once  in  the  State. 
It  is  a  rare  southern  bird  and  does  not  venture  far  north.  The  other  two 
species  are  very  abundant,  the  Nighthawk  exceedingly  so.  The  Whip- 
poor-will's  call  is  heard  almost  every  where  in  West  Virginia  in  those 
months  when  they  are  present  with  us.  During  the  first  week  in  May 
the  Nighthawks  arrive  from  the  south,  though  they  are  not  often  seen 
in  large  numbers  in  the  spring,  a  few  remain  in  our  mountain  sections 
to  breed,  though  most  of  them  go  farther  north.^  About  the  middle  of 
August  these  birds  begin  to  fly  toward  the  south.  Then  may  be  seen 
immense  flocks  of  these  very  graceful  birds  as  they  fly  about  in  pursuit 
of  their  food.  At  that  season  of  the  year  they  are  sometimes  called 
"Bull  Bats"  because  of  the  coarse,  raucus  note  that  they  utter,  though 
this  booming  note  is  heard  most  often  in  the  spring.  Prof.  Forbush 
says,  "It  is  probable  that  the  Nighthawk  is  one  of  the  most  useful  of 
all  birds.  It  ranks  next  to  the  Flicker  in  the  destruction  of  ants,  and 
it  takes  them  when  they  are  flying  and  about  to  propagate.  Professor 
Beal  estimated  that  the  stomachs  of  eighty-seven  Nighthawks  which  he 
examined  'contained  not  less  than  twenty  thousand  ants,  and  these  were 
not  half  of  the  insect  contents.'  One  Nighthawk's  stomach  held  remains 
of  thirty-four  May  beetles.  Great  numbers  of  grasshoppers  are  caught 
by  these  birds.  Potato  beetles,  cucumber  beetles,  leaf  hoppers,  bugs, 
and  enormous  quantities  of  gnats  and  mosquitoes  have  been  found  in 
their  stomachs.  Nighthawks  are  absolutely  harmless,  as  they  never 


44  FOOD  01   WEST  VIK<;IMA  Biitus 

take  fruit  or  grain,  grass  or  vegetables."  All  these  birds  are  animated 
insect  traps,  and  do  an  untold  amount  of  good  in  taking  the  aerial  forms 
of  insect  life.  They  should  be  carefully  protected,  and  every  one  who 
shoots  a  Nighthawk,  as  is  often  done,  should  be  prosecuted  to  the  full 
extent  of  the  law. 

The   Chimney   Swift 

Flying  through  the  air  in  the  summer  time,  from  about  the  20th  of 
April  to  the  first  week  in  October,  may  be  seen  great  numbers  of  small, 
bow-shaped  birds,  twittering  as  they  fly.  These  birds  are  often  known 
as  "Chimney  Swallows."  However,  this  is  a  misnomer.  The  birds  are 
not  Swallows  and  should  not  be  given  that  name.  They  belong  to  the 
Swift  family  and  differ  automatically  from  the  Swallow  family.  All 
summer  long  they  gather  in  small  flocks  about  chimneys  in  the  towns, 
cities  and  farming  communities  and  there  they  build  their  nests,  fasten- 
ing them  to  the  chimney  walls.  In  undeveloped  communities  they  often 
make  their  nests  in  old  trees,  and  in  1914  I  found  these  birds  building 
their  nests  on  the  walls  of  an  old  shanty  in  a  lumber  camp.  Because 
of  their  great  numbers  and  their  restless  activity  they  destroy  great 
numbers  cf  small  insects.  In  every  respect  the  Chimney  Swifts  are 
useful  birds. 

Flycatchers. 

Another  interesting  family  belongs  in  this  chapter.  This  is  the  family 
of  Flycatchers  which  includes  certain  species  like  the  Phoebe  and  King- 
bird with  which  every  one  is  familiar.  In  our  State  at  least  nine  species 
and  subspecies  have  been  found.  These  are  the  Kingbird,  Crested  Fly- 
catcher, Phoebe,  Olive-sided  Flycatcher,  Wood  Pewee,  Yellow-bellied 
Flycatcher,  Acadian  Flycatcher,  Alder  Flycatcher,  and  Least  Flycatcher. 

The  name  that  most  of  these  birds  bear  is  indicative  of  the  character 
of,  and  the  manner  of  procuring,  their  food.  These  birds  are  almost 
wholly  insectivorous,  though  a  few  of  them  eat  fruit  In  considerable 
quantities  in  late  summer  and  autumn.  I  have  always  felt  a  very  special 
interest  in  this  family.  Though  inconspicuous  and,  as  compared  witn' 
many  other  birds,  rather  somber  in  coloring,  they  have  habits  that  are 
attractive  and  their  characteristics  are  so  exceedingly  varied  as  to  make 
them  a  most  delightful  group  for  study.  In  taking  up  these  different 
species  for  study  and  investigation,  we  shall  find  them  one  of  the  most 
interesting  of  all  our  families  of  birds.  The  Kingbird  is  a  bold,  dashing 
species  with  very  dark  gray  back,  black  head  and  tail,  the  tail  being 
banded  across  the  end  with  white  and  a  patch  of  orange  concealed  by 
the  outer  feathers  of  the  crown,  the  under  parts  being  white.  This  bird 
Is  often  called  "Bee  Bird"  or  "Bee  Martin"  because  of  its  fondness  for 
honey  bees.  It  is  true  that  the  Kingbird  often  takes  bees,  but  this  de- 
struction is  not  so  greeat  as  is  sometimes  thought  since  more  drones  are 
killed  than  workers.  They  are  of  real  value  to  the  apiary  on  account 
of  the  destruction  of  moths  and  other  insects.  Of  the  bee-eating  habit 
of  the  Kingbird,  Prof.  Beal  says,  in  one  of  the  bulletins  of  the  Biological 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VinarxiA  BIRDS  45 

Survey,  "The  Biological  Survey  has  made  an  examination  of  281  stom- 
acks  collected  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  but  found  only  14 
containing  remains  of  honeybees.  In  these  14  stomachs  there  were  in 
all  50  honeybees,  of  which  40  were  drones,  4  were  certainly  workers, 
and  the  remaining  six  were  too  badly  broken  to  be  identified  as  to  sex." 
In  my  studies  I  have  found  evidences  that  these  birds  destroy  many 
harmful  insects,  and  that  they  help  the  farmer  by  driving  the  Hawks 
away  from  the  poultry  yard.  They  also  eat  many  kinds  of  fruits,  and 
I  have  seen  them  feeding  upon  the  mulberry,  blackberry,  raspberry, 
Ilex  mollis  (holly),  wild  prickley  gooseberry,  common  elder  berry,  and 
sassafras.  During  the  last  days  of  August,  1915,"  \  found  a  flock  of 
about  75  of  these  birds  feeding  in  a  large  grove  of  sasasfras  bushes. 
They  ate  large  quantities  of  these  aromatic  berries,  swallowing  them 
whole,  then  casting  out  the  seads  from  the  tops  of  nearby  trees  into 
which  the  birds  flew  after  gorging  themselves  with  the  fruit.  The  King- 
bird is  common  in  most  parts  of  our  State,  especially  so  in  the  south- 
eastern section.  The  Crested  Flycatcher  is  another  species  that  is 
worthy  of  mention,  and  its  food  habits  should  be  studied  very  carefully. 
It  is  one  of  the  largest  members  of  the  family,  having  a  rich  brown  back, 
light  gray  throat  and  breast  and  sulphur  yellow  belly.  Usually  these 
birds  are  to  be  found  in  the  woods,  but  occasionally  they  come  out  into 
our  orchards  and  vineyards.  The  food  of  this  species  consists  of  wood- 
land insects  and  a  little  fruit.  Last  August  I  found  the  Crested  Fly- 
catcher feeding  on  the  ripe  fruit  of  the  sassafras.  In  Bulletin  No.  110 
of  the  West  Virginia  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  Mr.  Fred  E. 
Brooks  says,  "One  of  the  vineyards  in  which  the  study  of  the  grape- 
vine root-borer  was  carried  on  extended  along  the  side  of  an  orchard 
of  pear  trees.  These  trees,  at  the  time  the  moths  were  flying,  seemed 
to  be  a  favorite  rsort  for  a  family  of  Crested  Flycatchers,  and  several 
times  these  birds  were  seen  hawking  among  the  grape  vines.  On  the 
morning  of  Aug.  1,  one  of  the  Flycatchers  was  observed  to  leave  the 
top  of  a  pear  tree,  catch  some  insect  that  was  flying  near  the  grape 
vines,  and  then  return  to  the  tree.  This  procedure  was  repeated  several 
times,  when  the  bird  was  shot  and  an  examination  made  to  ascertain 
what  insects  it  had  been  catching.  This  bird  proved  to  be  a  young 
female  and  its  stomach  contained  seven  of  the  root-borer  moths,  and  one 
large  grasshopper,  all  of  which  had  been  recently  swallowed.  Two  of 
the  moths  were  females,  and  these  two  contained  416  eggs  which  could 
be  counted.  If  this  one  examination  indicated  any  thing  like  the  extent 
to  which  these  Flycatchers  were  feeding  upon  the  moths,  then  the  bird 
must  be,  in  that  locality  at  least,  a  very  important  factor  in  reducing 
the  number  of  borers.  The  seven  moths  had  supplied  only  a  breakfast 
lor  the  bird,  and  if  the  same  rate  of  feeding  were  kept  up  for  a  day 
by  the  five  or  six  Flycatchers  that  frequented  the  vicinity  of  the  vineyard, 
not  less  than  a  hundred  moths  would  be  consumed.  It  can  therefore  be 
seen  that  any  condition  favoring  the  presence  of  these,  as  well  as  other 
insectivorous  birds,  about  a  vineyard  is  greatly  to  be  desired." 

"Among  our  early  spring  arrivals  here  in  West  Virginia  is  the  Phoebe, 
or  "Pewee,"  as  it  is  familiarly  called.     This  bird  becomes  semi-domestic 


46  FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIBDS 

about  our  homes  and  other  buildings  where  it  places  its  nest  on  any  sort 
of  a  projection  that  will  support  this  compact  structure  of  moss,  mud, 
grasses  and  hair.  The  Phoebe  is  insectivorous  and  destroys  many  click 
beetles,  May  beetles,  weevils,  grasshoppers,  flies  and  bugs.  Since  these 
birds  raise  at  least  two  broods  each  season,  and  each  brood  has  from 
four  to  six  young,  there  are  many  hungry  mouths  to  fill  and  the  insects 
required  for  the  young  greatly  diminishes  the  insect  population  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  nesting  place.  I  have  found  this  species  feeding  on  the 
fruit  of  the  black  mulberry,  service  berry,  holly,  common  elder  berry, 
sassafras,  wild  black  cherry  and  Virginia  creeper. 

Of  the  other  Flycatchers  the  Wood  Pewee  is  most  common.  The 
Yellow-bellied  Flycatcher  is  very  rare  and  the  Olive-sided  Flycatcher 
is  found  only  in  our  highest  mountains.  The  Acadian  Flycatcher  is 
common  along  streams  and  is  a  persistent  foe  of  insects.  The  Least 
Flycacher  and  the  rare  Alder  Flycatcher  are  found  only  in  our  mountain 
sections  during  the  summer;  during  the  migration  seasons  they  may 
be  found  elsewhere.  A  few  years  ago  I  made  the  most  southern  record 
of  the  nesting  of  this  species  when  I  found  them  breeding  in  the  Cran- 
berry Glades  in  Pocahontas  County. 


Foon  OK  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS 


47 


4S  FOOD  or  WEST  VIBLIXIA  BIKDS 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

BLACKBIRDS  AND  SPARROWS. 
General  Characteristics. 

The  family  of  Blackbirds,  Orioles,  etc.,  includes  the  true  Blackbirds, 
the  Meadowlark  and  the  Orioles.  So  far  as  appearances  go  this  is  a 
very  miscellaneous  group,  yet  the  anatomical  structure  of  these  birds 
is  so  much  alike,  though  outward  appearances  are  very  unlike,  that 
systematists  have  placed  in  the  same  family  the  gorgeous  Orioles,  the 
somber  Blackbirds,  the  rollicking  Bobolink  and  the  terrestrial,  sparrow- 
like  Meadowlark.  In  West  Virginia  ten  members  are  comprised  in  this 
family.  They  are  the  Bobolink,  Cowbird,  Yellow-headed  Blackbird,  Red- 
winged  Blackbird,  Meadowlark,  Orchard  Oriole,  Baltimore  Oriole,  Rusty 
Blackbird,  Purple  Crackle  and  Bronzed  Crackle.  Several  of  these  birds 
will  be  described  in  the  paragraphs  that  follow. 

The  large  and  useful  family  of  Sparrows  also  must  be  considered  in 
this  chapter.  Aside  from  the  English  Sparrow  we  have  in  West  Virginia 
thirty  species  of  native  Sparrows.  These  are  nearly  all  very  hardy  birds, 
most  of  them  of  very  dull  colors,  and  many  of  them  possessing  great 
musical  ability.  All  have  strong  conical  bills  with  which  they  can  crush 
the  hard  covering  of  seeds  and  grains.  Their  diet  is  made  up  of  seeds, 
grains,  fruit  and  insects.  In  some  species  the  bulk  of  the  food  consists 
of  insects,  while  others  feed  largely  upon  seeds.  The  Sparrow  family 
is  of  very  general  distribution,  and  everywhere  one  goes  many  species 
are  to  be  found.  While  some  of  these  birds  are  fond  of  the  woodlands, 
and  a  few  are  to  be  found  in  trees,  the  larger  proportion  of  the  family 
spend  their  time  on  the  ground  in  the  open  fields  or  in  the  thickets. 
Few  birds  have  a  more  important  place  in  nature's  economy  than  the 
family  of  Finches  a.nd  Sparrows.  This  will  appear  as  we  discuss  the 
food  of  some  of  the  more  important  species. 

Blackbirds. 

Six  species  of  Blackbirds  have  been  recorded  in  West  Virginia.  One 
of  these,  the  Yellow-headed  Blackbird,  has  been  taken  but  once.  It 
is  a  western  species  and  may  never  again  be  found  in  our  State.  The 
Red-winged  Blackbird  is  a  very  common  species  wherever  there  are 
large  meadows,  swamps,  glades  or  sluggish  streams.  In  many  places 
within  our  boundaries  this  bird  is  very  common  and  may  be  seen  in  im- 
mense flocks  in  the  migration  seasons  and  in  considerable  numbers  in 
its  favorite  nesting  places  in  summer  time.  The  male  may  be  readily 
identified  by  his  glossy  black  plumage  and  the  brilliantly  red  and  yellow 
shoulder  spots.  The  female  is  dull  brownish  gray  in  color  and  is  very 
inconspicuous.  Grave  charges  of  destroying  much  grain  have  been 
hrought  against  this  bird.  It  is  true  that  the  Red-wing  is  fond  of  certain 
kinds  of  grain,  oats  particularly,  and  wheat  and  corn  are  often  eaten. 
Yet  it  has  been  proven  that  57%  of  the  whole  year's  fare  for  the  Red- 
wing is  made  up  of  weed-seeds  and  that  many  harmful  insects,  weevils 
especially,  are  destroyed  by  this  bird.  In  the  month  of  June  25%  of 


CHIPPING    SPARROW 

Order— PASSERES  Family— FRINOILLID-C 

Genus— SPIZBLLA  Species— PASSERINA 

National  Association  of  Audubon  Societies 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGIXIA  BIRDS  49 

this  Blackbird's  food  is  made  up  of  snout  beetles  or  weevils.  The  Rusty 
Blackbird  is  another  species  that  needs  only  to  be  mentioned.  This 
species  4s  from  the  north  and  passes  through  the  State  on  its  migration 
journeys.  At  times  I  have  seen  these  small  Blackbirds  in  considerable 
numbers.  Like  the  other  smaller  species  of  this  family  they  feed  largely 
on  \\eed  seeds.  The  two  remaining  species  in  the  group,  the  Bronzed 
Crackle  and  Purple  Crackle,  are  often  called  indiscriminately  "Crow 
Blackbird."  These  two  forms  of  the  same  species  are  found  throughout 
the  State,  the  Purple  Crackle  ease  of  the  mountains  and  its  subspecies, 
the  i^ionzed  Crackle,  ^est  of  the  mountains.  To  the  untrained  eye  the 
two  forms  seem  to  be  exactly  alike  and,  so  fur  as  their  habits  and  general 
appearances  go,  they  are  practically  identical.  These  are  our  largest 
Llackbiids  and  their  economic  relationships  are  of  importance.  At 
times  they  appear  in  immense  flocks  of  many  thousands  of  birds.  Prof, 
ueal  says,  ''It  is  evident  that  a  bird  so  large  and  so  abundant  may  exer- 
cise an  important  influence  upon  the  agricultural  \\elfaie  cf  the  country 
it  inhabits."  During  the  past  summer  I  have  seen  the  Bronzed  Crackles 
feeding  upon  wild  mulberries,  black  berries,  wild  black  cherries  and  the 
fruit  of  the  flowering  dogwcod.  I  have  observed  them  feeding  also  upon 
beechnuts  and  several  kinds  of  acorns.  Sometimes  they  alight  in  the 
top  cf  tail  white  oak  trees  and  eat  gieat  quantities  of  the  ripening  acoins. 
Grain  constitutes  neaily  half  of  the  entire  amount  of  food  eaten  through- 
out the  year.  Much  cf  this  that  is  taken  in  the  winter  is,  of  course, 
waste  grain,  but  that  taken  in  summer  is  from  the  fields  where  these 
birds  alight  in  large  flocks  and  sometimes  do  great  damage.  The  food 
of  this  species  is  made  up  of  many  things — grain,  weed  seeds,  wild  fruit 
a  very  little  cultivated  fruit,  grub  worms  and  other  harmful  insects, 
snails,  crayfish,  salamanders,  birds'  eggs,  young  birds,  mice,  small  snakes, 
fish  and  almost  anything  else  that  any  bird  will  eat.  The  Bronzed 
Crackle  and  Purple  Crackle  are  decidedly  omnivorous.  While  they  do 
some  harm  in  the  destruction  of  grain  and  a  few  birds'  eggs,  they  do 
great  good  in  the  destrucution  of  many  harmful  insects.  I  believe  these 
Blackbirds  should  be  protected. 

Bobolink. 

The  Bobolink  should  be  mentioned  because'  of  its  beauty  of  plumage, 
its  exquisite  song  and  its  great  reputation  along  various  lines,  though 
this  species  is  quite  rare  in  West  Virginia.  I  have  observed  Bobolinks 
in  a  dozen  or  more  sections  of  the  State,  seeing  them  usually  about  the 
first  week  in  May.  Mr.  I.  R.  Tannehill  says  that  "The  Bobolink  re- 
mained in  the  fields  about  Alderson  until  well  into  the  summer,  I  believe 
about  the  10th  of  June  (1913.)"  Large  flocks  have  been  observed  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  State  during  the  fall  migration.  So  rare  is  this 
noted  species  in  our  part  of  the  country  that  it  need  not  be  discussed 
from  the  standpoint  of  its  food. 

Meadowlark. 
As  we  walk  through  the  fields  we  occasionally  flush  from  the  ground 


CO  Foou  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIBDS 

a  rather  large  bird  about  the  size  of  a  Bob-white  and  having  some  of  the 
marks  of  this  bird.  But  its  prominent  white  tail-feathers,  the  sharp 
metallic  twitter  which  it  utters  frequently  as  it  goes  on  its  peculiar 
flight,  and  the  fact  that  it  ofteen  alights  on  a  fence,  tree,  or  stump  serve 
to  distinguish  it  from  the  famous  game  bird  which  it  resembles  in  some 
respects.  This  bird,  the  Meadowlark,  is  quite  common  in  West  Vir- 
ginia. Even  in  mid-winter  these  birds  may  be  found.  As  has  been  said, 
they  are  like  the  Bob-white  in  color,  though  the  throat  and  breast  are  a 
beautiful  bright  yellow  set  off  with  a  black  crescent.  Since  these  birds 
feed  on  the  ground  it  may  be  inferred  that  they  eat  such  insects  and 
grains  and  weed  seeds  as  may  be  gathered  there.  This  is  true,  and 
it  is  has  been  proven  by  the  examination  of  stomachs  that  this  bird 
is  almost  wholly  beneficial.  One  stomach  examined  by  the  experts  in  the 
Biological  Survey  at  Washington  contained  fragments  of  37  grasshop- 
pers. In  the  grasshopper  month,  August,  the  Meadowlarks  live  almost 
entirely  upon  these  destructive  insects. 

The  Orioles. 

The  Orioles  are  chiefly  noted  for  their  beauty  of  plumage,  their  pleas- 
ing songs  and  their  hanging  nests.  Though  Orioles  are  quite  abundant 
in  the  warmer  sections  of  America,  we  have  but  two  species  in  West 
Virginia.  These  are  the  Orchard  Oriole  and  the  Baltimore  Oriole.  The 
former  species  is  not  at  all  rare,  though  few  persons  have  observed  it 
on  account  of  its  retiring  ways  and  inconspicuous  manners.  The  song  of 
the  Orchard  Oriole  is  very  pleasing  and  its  plumage  is  rich  and  varied. 
The  adult  male  in  full  plumage  is  a  deep  chestnut  red  with  black  head, 
throat,  wings  and  tail.  The  younger  males  and  the  females  are  yellow 
with  olive-green  backs  and  tails,  and  fuscous  wings.  The  young  males 
have  black  throats.  The  food  of  this  species  consists  of  insects  and 
fruit.  During  the  past  season  I  observed  the  Orchard  Orioles  feeding 
upon  sweet  cherries,  wild  mulberries  and  service  berries.  Our  other 
species,  the  namesake  of  Lord  Baltimore,  is  well  known  because  of  the 
exceedingly  brilliant  plumage  of  orange,  black  and  white.  The  females 
have  the  same  color  pattern  as  the  males,  but  are  far  less  brilliant. 
Along  all  our  West  Virginia  streams  this  bird  may  be  found,  especially 
where  the  elm  and  sycamore  trees  grow.  It  is  common  also  about 
orchards  and  in  the  shade  trees  in  our  cities  and  towns.  The  food  of 
this  beautiful  species  consists  of  insects,  a  small  amount  of  cultivated 
fruit,  wild  fruits  of  several  kinds,  and  a  few  green  peas.  Out  of  113 
stomachs  examined  by  the  Biological  Survey  at  Washington  only  two 
contained  remains  of  peas.  These  birds  are  sometimes  accused  of  eating 
grapes,  but  I  have  seen  no  evidences  of  this.  During  the  past  summer 
Mr.  King,  my  assistant,  and  I  found  them  eating  wild  mulberries,  black 
berries,  common  elderberries  and  wild  black  cherries.  The  Baltimore 
Oriole  is  said  to  feed  upon  beetles,  bugs,  ants,  wasps,  grasshoppers  and 
some  spiders.  The  beetles  are  principally  click  beetles  or  "snapping 
bugs,"  the  larvae  of  which  are  very  desttructive. 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS  '*        51 

The  Sparrows. 

To  essay  the  task  of  describing  in  even  the  briefest  manner  the 
food-habits  of  our  thirty  different  species  of  native  Sparrows  is  a  very 
difficult  undertaking.  Already,  in  the  opening  paragraph  of  this  chapter, 
some  of  the  general  marks  of  this  family  have  been  set  forth.  It  now 
becomes  necessary  to  take  up  this  family  and  study  the  various  members 
of  it  in  a  more  detailed  fashion.  This  family  of  thirty  members  may 
be  divided  into  three  groups — the  first  group  containing  eight  species 
of  rather  brightly  colored  finches,  the  second  containing  sixteen  species 
of  very  plain  striped  birds,  and  the  last  containing  six  species  of  Gros- 
beaks and  their  near  allies.  This  arbitrary  classification  is  for  con- 
venience only  and  has  no  particular  basis  in  morphological  relation- 
ships. This  first  group  includes  the  rare  Pine  Grosbeak,  which  has 
rarely  been  seen  in  West  Virginia;  the  somewhat  erratic  Purple  Finch, 
found  almost  any  place  in  the  State  during  the  winter,  but  only  in  the 
mountains  in  nesting  time;  the  American  and  White-winged  Crossbills, 
both  of  which  are  rare,  the  last  especially  so;  the  northern  Ked-poll 
which  has. been  seen  in  this  State  only  once;  the  almost  omnipresent 
Goldfiinch  which  is  distributed  so  generally  throughout  the  State  in 
summer  and  remains  in  some  sections  during  the  winter  months;  the 
peregrine  Pine  Siskin,  which  is  abundant  during  some  autumn  migra- 
tions, and  at  other  times  may  not  occur  for  a  number  of  years;  and 
that  rare  white  bird  of  the  far  north,  the  Snowflake.  The  second  group 
embraces  such  plainly  marked  birds  as  the  Vesper  Sparrow,  Savannah 
Sparrow,  Grasshopper  Sparrow,  Lark  Sparrow,  White-crowned  Sparrow, 
White-throated  Sparrow,  Tree  Sparrow,  Chipping  Sparrow,  Field  Spar- 
row, Slate-colored  Junco,  Carolina  Junco,  Bachman's  Sparrow,  Song 
Sparrow,  Lincoln's  Sparrow,  Swamp  Sparrow,  and  Fox  Sparrow.  Some 
of  these  are  rare  and  others  are  most  abundant.  The  last  group 
is  made  up  of  the  generally  distributed  Towhee  or  Chewink,  which  is 
to  be  found  In  every  part  of  the  State;  the  gorgeous  Cardinal  or  "Red- 
bird,"  the  well-named  Rose-breasted  Grosbeak,  found  in  most  parts  of 
the  State  only  in  migration  seasons,  but  nests  in  the  mountains;  the  very 
rare  Blue  Grosbeak  which  I  have  never  seen,  though  it  has  been  ob- 
served by  others  within  our  State  lines;  the  very  common  Indigo  bird; 
and  the  vanishing  Dickcissel.  This  is  the  complete  list  of  our  Sparrows. 

The  Food  of  Sparrows. 

While  some  of  the  Sparrows  have  food-habits  that  are  exclusively 
their  own,  there  is  a  great  similarity  in  the  food  that  is  eaten  by  all 
the  members  of  this  family.  In  the  main  it  consists  of  insects  in  the 
summer  and  weed  seeds  in  the  winter.  Of  course  some  species  feed, 
to  some  extent,  upon  fruit,  and  others  vary  their  diet  slightly  with 
various  things,  yet  nearly  all  of  the  thirty  species  of  Sparrows  feed  upon 
insects  in  the  summer  and  weed  seeds  in  the  fall  and  winter.  Such 
species  as  the  Pine  Grosbeak,  Purple  Finch,  the  Crossbills  and  Red- 
poll feed  largely  upon  the  seeds  of  trees,  especially  such  as  grow  in  the 
evergreen  forests  of  the  north.  The  Purple  Finch  often  feeds  upon  the 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIBGIMA  BIRDS 


Photo  by  Fred  E.  Brooks 
Xest  and  eggs  of  Lark  Sparrow. 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS  53 

blossoms  of  certain  wild  and  cultivated  fruit  trees,  though  no  harm  is 
done  in  this  way.  The  Goldfinch,  which  is  often  called  "Beet  Bird," 
"Lettuce  Bird"  or  "Wild  Canary,"  is  common  all  over  the  State.  It  is 
found  in  such  abundance  that  its  food  is  very  important.  As  some  of 
its  names  indicate,  it  is  often  found  feeding  upon  the  leaves  of  some 
of  cur  garden  plants,  though  not  in  a  destructive  manner.  The  seeds 
of  the  dandelion,  thistle,  ragweed  and  catnip  are  especially  sought  for 
by  the  Goldfinch.  Prof.  Forbush  says,  "Goldfinches  feed  their  young 
largely  on  plant  lice,  caterpillars,  small  grasshoppers,  and  beetles.  Dur- 
ing the  spring,  when  unhampered  by  family  cares,  and  wandering  through 
fields  and  orchards,  where  they  feed  considerably  on  cankerworms.  They 
sometimes  frequent  grain  fields,  where  they  are  said  to  devour  noxious 
insects,  including  the  Hessian  fly.  Goldfinches  often  feed  very  largely 
in  winter  on  the  eggs  of  plant  lice;  this  has  been  observed  many  times. 
Mr.  Kirkland  examined  the  stomach  of  one  of  these  birds,  and  found  it 
contained  two  thousand,  two  hundred  and  ten  eggs  of  the  white  birch 
aphid."  There  is  a  large  number  of  our  plainly  colored  Sparrows  that 
feed  almost  entirely  on  the  ground,  either  in  the  fields  or  in  thickets. 
Such  Sparrows  as  the  Vesper,  Lark,  Grasshopper,  White-crowned,  White- 
throated,  Song,  Swamp,  Fox  and  the  Slate-colored  and  Carolina  Juncos 
are  terrestrial  end  feed  on  such  insects  and  weed  seeds  as  they  can 
gather  up  on  the  ground  or  among  the  glasses  and  low  shrubbery.  So 
Treat  are  the  numbers  of  these  ground-haunting  Sparrows  that  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground  is  thoroughly  searched  many  times  each  year  and 
vast  quantities  of  hurtful  insects  and  pernicious  seeds  are  gathered 
and  eaten.  Prof.  Beal  says,  "Many  grasshoppers  are  eaten,  and  in  the 
case  of  the  Chipping  Sparrow  these  insects  form  one-eighth  of  the 
food.  Grasshoppers  would  seem  to  be  rather  large  morsels,  but  the 
bird  probably  confines  itself  to  the  smaller  species;  in  deed,  this  is 
indicated  by  the  fact  that  the  greatest  amount  (over  36  per  cent)  is 
eaten  in  June,  when  the  larger  species  are  still  young  and  the  small 
species  most  numerous.  Besides  the  insects  already  mentioned,  many 
wasps  and  bugs  are  taken.  Predacecus  and  parasitic  Hymenoptera  and 
predaceous  beetles,  all  useful  insects,  are  eaten  only  to  a  slight  extent, 
so  that  as  a  whole  the  Sparrows'  insect  diet  may  be  considered  bene- 
ficial." Some  grain  is  eaten  by  a  few  of  the  Sparrows  but  not  to  a 
harmful  extent.  I  have  observed  the  Field  Sparrow  feeding,  to  a  very 
limited  extent,  upon  sweet  cherries,  sour  cherries,  cultivated  grapes,  the 
wild  black  cherry,  wild  red  cherry,  mulberry  ,  service  berry,  and  black- 
berry. The  Chipping  Sparrow  also  feeds  upon  fruits  as  follows:  Black 
sour  cherry,  black  sweet  cherry,  currant,  wild  red  cherry,  wild  mulberry, 
service  berry,  red  elder  berry  and  blackberry..  The  Carolina  Junco,  that, 
interesting  subspecies  of  "Snowbird"  that  is  to  be  found  in  the  Alle- 
gheny Mountain  regions  of  the  State  was  observed  last  summer  eating 
the  fruit  of  the  wild  red  elder  berry  in  the  mountains  above  Pickehs. 
I  have  observed  many  of  our  other  Sparrows  eating  wild  and  cultivated 
fruits  in  considerable  quantities.  For  instance,  the  Cardinal  was  ob- 
served last  season  feeding  upon  the  fruit  of  the  cultivated  sweet  cherry, 
eour  cherry,  wild  mulberry,  bird  cherry,  wild  black  cherry,  flowering  dog- 


FOOD  of  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS 


wood,  poison  ivy,  common  elder  berry,  and  blackberry.  On  some  ot 
these  fruits  the  Cardinal  feeds  quite  freely  and  on  others  very  sparingly. 

Considering  all  things  we  must  conclude  that  the  Sparrows  are  well 
worthy  of  protection  since  they  contribute  very  much  to  the  farmer's 
welfare  against  weeds  and  insect  pests. 

The  one  alien  member  of  this  family,  the  English  Sparrow,  was 
introduced  in  this  country  more  than  half  a  century  ago,  has  spread 
very  rapidly,  and  its  work  of  injury  is  carried  on  all  over  our  country. 
In  some  way  this  harmful  species  should  be  destroyed. 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA.  BIRDS  55 

CHAPTER  IX. 
TANAGERS,    SWALLOWS,    WAXWINGS    AND    VIREOS. 

Families    Described. 

There  is  no  special  reason  why  these  four  families  should  be  grouped 
together  except  that  they  are  near  together  in  the  present  system  of 
the  classification  of  our  North  American  birds.  Each  one  of  these 
families  is  quite  distinct  from  the  others  in  many  ways.  The  character- 
istics may  be  summarized  as  follows:  (1)  The  Tanagers.  These  are 
arboreal,  forest-inhabiting  birds,  of  brilliant  plumage  and  mostly  of  the 
tropical  regions.  Only  four  of  the  more  than  350  species  reach  the 
United  States,  and  of  these  four,  only  two  are  found  in  West  Virginia. 
These  are  the  Scarlet  Tanager  and  the  Summer  Tanager.,  (2)  The 
Swallows.  Six  members  of  the  Swallow  family  occur  in  our  State.  They 
are  all  small  birds  that  spend  practically  all  their  time  in  the  air  where 
they  gather  their  insect  food.  They  are  strong  of  wing  and  fly  long- 
distances.  Though  of  almost  the  same  size  these  birds  differ  very  much 
in  habits,  especially  in  the  matter  of  nest-building.  Some  build  in  holes 
in  the  ground,  others  make  their  nests  of  *mud  on  the  rarters  of  barns, 
and  the  Purple  Martin  makes  it  nests  in  houses  provided  for  that  purpose. 
The  six  species  present  in  cur  State  are  the  Purple  Martin,  Cliff  Swallow, 
Barn  Swallow,  Tree  Swallow,  Bank  Swallow  and  Rough-winged  Swallow. 
(3)  The  Waxwings.  This  family  has  one  lone  representative  in  this  State 
and  that  is  the  well  known  Cedarbird  or  Cedar  Waxwing.  Only  one 
other  species,  the  Bohemian  Waxwing,  is  to  be  found  in  North  America. 
The  Cedarbird  is  very  fend  cf  fruit  of  many  kinds,  is  songless,  and 
may  be  readily  distinguished  from  other  species  by  the  red  wax-like 
substance  en  their  wings  the  erectile  crest,  and  the  yellow  band  across 
the  end  of  the  tail.  These  birds  are  about  the  size  of  the  Bluebird.  (4) 
The  Vireos.  This  is  one  of  our  most  interesting  families.  Like  the 
Warblers  the  Vireos  are  nearly  all  birds  of  the  woods,  though  one  or 
two  species  may  be  found  in  our  orchards  or  along  the  streets  where 
shade  tre«s  grow.  As  the  Latin  name,  vireo.  indicates  these  birds  are 
greenish  in  color,  though  some  are  rather  gray  than  green.  All  are 
of  dull  colors  and  none  of  them  has  very  striking  marks  of  any  kind. 
The  species  found  in  West  Virginia  are,  the  Red-eyed  Vlreo,  Philadelphia 
Vireo,  Warbling  Virea,  Yellow-throated  Vireo,  Blue-headed  Vireo,  Moun- 
tain Vireo  and  White-eyed  Vireo.  Further  characteristics  of  these  various 
families  will  appear  in  the  more  detailed  studies  given  below. 

The  Tanagers. 

The  males  of  both  species  of  Tanagers  found  in  this  State  are  bril- 
liantly red,  the  Summer  Tanager  being  entirely  red,  though  of  a  rather 
pale  shade,  while  the  male  Scarlet  Tanager  is  most  gorgeously  red  with 
black  wings.  The  females  bear  very  dull  plumage  cf  an  olive-green 
color,  their  wings  being  fuscous.  Both  species  live  on  insects  and  fruit. 
In  some  sections  of  the  country  the  Summer  Tanager  is  called  the 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIROS 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS  57 

"Southern  Bee  Bird,"  and  is  said  to  destroy  a  great  many  honey  bees. 
Otherwise  its  food  is  of  such  a  character  as  to  be  helpful  to  those  who 
depend  in  any  way  upon  forest  products.  The  Summer  Tanager  is 
found  chiefly  in  the  southern  part  of  the  State  and  does  not  occur  in 
the  mountainous  sections.  The  Scarlet  Tanager  is  common  in  mountains 
and  in  the  lowlands  alike.  Wherever  there  are  large  forested  sections 
this  bird  of  flaming  plumage  may  be  found  diligently  about  its  work 
among  the  trees.  It  has  been  called  the  guardian  of  the  oaks,  since 
it  gathers  much  of  its  food  from  the  oak  trees.  Many  large  moths  such  as 
Catocalas,  Cecropias  and  Lunas  are  eaten  by  these  birds.-and  they  do 
good  service  in  the  destruction  of  many  kinds  of  caterpillars  and  wood- 
boring  and  bark-boring  beetles  and  weevils.  Prof.  Forbush  says  that 
they  are  almost  entirely  insectivorous  and  suggests  that  they  eat  very 
little  fruit.  However,  during  the  past  summer  and  fall  I  found  these 
birds  feeding  upon  the  following  cultivated  and  wild  fruits — sweet  cherry, 
wild  black  cherry,  bird  cherry,  black  mulberry,  service  berry  and  black- 
berry. 

Swallows. 

The  Swallows  are  the  special  guardians  of  the  air.  Every  one  is 
familiar  with  the  graceful  flight  of  these  little  birds  as  they  go  about 
seeking  their  insect  food  or  go  coursing  through  the  air  for  the  real 
pleasure  of  it.  Almost  all  our  Swallows  are  of  metallic  coloring,  though 
the  Bank  Swallow  and  Rough-winged  Swallow  are  dull  grayish  brown 
above  and  lighter  underneath.  The  Barn  Swallow  may  be  identified  by 
his  long  forked  tail,  the  Cliff  Swallows  by  his  strange  nest,  the  Tree 
Swallow  by  his  pure  white  breast,  while  the  Purple  Martin  needs  no 
introduction  for  even  the  children  know  this  semi-domestic  bird.  All 
the  Swallows  are  insectivorous,  and  great  numbers  of  insects  are 
destroyed  by  them.  It  is  said  that  the  Purple  Martins  eat  great  num- 
bers of  the  harmful  striped  cucumber  beetle.  As  the  Barn  Swallows  fly 
over  the  meadows  and  pastures  they  eat  the  moths  of  many  species 
of  small  cutworms  that  feed  upon  the  grass.  Cliff  Swallows  feed  on  the 
pests  of  grass  lands  and  cranberry  bogs.  All  Swallows  are  beneficial 
birds.  In  the  south  these  birds  are  especialy  destructive  to  the  cotton 
boll  weevil.  This  fact  alone  makes  them  of  very  great  econnmic  worth. 

Cedar  Bird. 

As  the  two  common  names,  "Cherry  Bird"  and  "Cedar  Bird,"  indicate 
the  Cedar  Waxwing  is  fond  of  fruit.  When  the  first  cultivated  sweet 
cherries  begin  to  ripen  the  Cedar  Birds  usually  come  in  considerable 
number  and  often  eat  quantities  of  the  fruit.  Other  fruits  eaten  by  this 
bird  are  the  cultivated  sour  cherries,  and  strawberries.  A  few  years 
ago  some  strawberry  beds  in  Lewis  County  were  frequented  by  the 
Cedar  Birds  and  great  quantities  of  the  berries  eaten.  Of  wild  fruits 
I  have  seen  these  birds  eating  the  berries  of  the  black  gum,  wild  black 
cherry,  bird  cherry,  service  berry,  black  mulberry,  black  haw,  hack- 
berry,  sassafras,  flowering  dogwood,  poke  berry  and  common  elder  berry. 


58  FOOD  i,i    WKST  YIU.MMA  BIRDS 

It  has  been  found  that  in  some  places  they  eat  many  of  the  berries 
of  the  red  cedar  and  the  mountain  ash.  In  the  mountains  where  these 
birds  are  always  common  in  summer  time  and  where  the  "bird"  cherry 
abounds  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  birds  act  as  a  distributing  agency 
for  the  seeds  of  this  wild  fruit  tree.  Thus  the  seeds  are  scattered 
everywhere,  and  when  the  forest  is  cut  over  or  burned  over,  they  spring 
up  and  immediately  a  new  forest  growth  is  begun.  Though  some  valu- 
able fruit  is  destroyed  by  these  birds,  much  good  is  done  in  the  manner 
just  indicated  and  many  harmful  insects  are  consumed.  On  the  morn- 
ing of  June  -8,  1914,  I  sat  by  our  camp  fire  on  the  border  of  the  great 
Cranberry  Glades.  Some  "bird"  cherry  bushes  were  growing  near  by 
and  the  branches  of  these  had  several  small  nests  of  the  tent  cater- 
pillar. As  I  sat  listening  and  watching  a  Cedar  Bird  flew  into  the  bushes, 
immediately  tore  open  one  of  the  nests  of  these  destructive  Sj  sects 
and  ate  three  of  the  young  caterpillars.  This  took  place  so  near  at 
hand  that  I  saw  the  whole  performance  clearly.  I  find  that  other  ob- 
servers accredit  the  Cedar  Bird  with  eating  elm  leaf  beetles,  grasshop- 
pers, crickets,  inhneumon  files,  crane  flies,  lacewing  flies  and  cutworms. 
In  Farmer's  Bulletin  No.  54,  page  38,  Prof.  Beal  speaks  of  investigations 
concerning  the  food-habits  of  this  bird  made  by  the  Biological  Survey 
of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture.  He  says,  "In  152 
stomachs  examined  animal  matter  formed  only  13  per  cent,  and  vegetable 
matter  87  per  cent,  showing  that  the  bird  is  not  wholly  a  fruit  eater. 
With  the  exception  of  a  few  snails,  all  the  animal  food  consisted  of 
insects,  mainly  beetles — all  but  one  more  or  less  noxious,  the  famous 
elm  leaf  beetle  being  among  the  number.  Bark  or  scale  lice  were  found 
in  several  stomachs,  while  the  rest  of  the  animal  food  was  made  up 
of  grasshoppers,  bugs,  and  the  like.  Three  nestlings  had  been  fed 
almost  entirely  on  insects.  Of  the  87  per  cent,  of  vegetable  food,  74 
per  cent,  consisted  entirely  of  wild  fruit  or  seeds  and  13  of  cultivated 
fruit,  though  a  large  part  of  the  latter  was  made  up  of  blackberries'  and 
raspberries,  which  may  or  may  not  have  represented  cultivated  varieties. 
Cherry  stealing  is  the  chief  complaint  against  this  bird,  but  of  the 
152  stomachs  only  9,  all  taken  in  June  and  July,  contained  any  remains 
of  cultivated  cherries,  and  these  aggregated  but  5  per  cent,  of  the 
year's  food.  As  41  stomachs  were  collected  in  these  months,  it  is 
evident  that  the  birds  do  not  live  to  any  great  extent  on  cultivated 
cherries." 

The    Vireos. 

As  suggested  in  the  opening  paragraph  of  this  chapter  the  Vireos 
are  obscure  birds,  their  plumage  being  olive-green,  gray  or  brown  with 
a  few  insignificant  markings,  the  under  parts  of  all  being  white  or  nearly 
white,  though  in  the  case  of  the  Yellow-throated  Vireo  the  throat  and 
breast  are  rather  bright  yellow.  In  general  behavior  the  Vireos  are 
much  like  the  Warblers,  and  nearly  all  of  our  species  are  woodland 
birds.  They  build  pensile  nests,  are  quite  musical  and  are  far  less 
shy  than  some  of  our  other  forest  birds.  One  can  approach  so  near 
a  female  Red-eyed  Vireo,  when  she  is  on  her  nest,  that  the  rich  ruby- 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS  59 

red  iris  may  be  seen.  Some  of  these  birds  are  quite  confiding  in  dis- 
position and  can  be  studied  with  the  greatest  ease.  Then,  too,  it  is 
never  difficult  to  find  the  Vireos  nor  their  nests,  because  they  sing  or 
scold  or  call  all  day  long  and  their  whereabouts  is  never  in  question. 
I  have  often  followed  the  song  of  the  Red-eyed  or  Yellow-throated 
Vireos  for  a  long  distance  knowing  that  I  would  find  associated  with 
them  other  woodland  birds.  The  Vireos  are  good  guides  to  the  bird- 
student  when  he  goes  into  the  woods  looking  for  interesting  species.  The 
song  is  loud  and  he  goes  into  the  woods  looking  for  interesting  species. 
The  song  is  loud  and  may  be  heard  at  a  long  distance.  In  West  Virginia 
we  have  seven  species.  Though  they  all  differ  in  very  striking  fashion 
there  are  close  resemblances  in  many  respects.  The  Red-eyed  Vireo 
is  a  common  summer  resident.  I  have  found  this  bird  in  all  sections  of 
the  State.  Several  times  in  the  month  of  July  I  have  seen  these 
birds  fly  silently  into  a  bush  of  the  alternate-leaved  dogwood  and  eat 
several  of  the  berries.  They  seem  to  be  especially  fond  of  this  kind 
of  fruit.  I  have  also  seen  this  species  feeding  upon  cultivated  sweet 
cherries,  wild  black  cherries,  "bird"  cherries,  mulberries,  sassafras 
berries,  black-fruited  holly,  and  common  elder  berry.  The  Red-eyed 
Vireo  is  recognized  as  a  great  insect  eater.  Mr.  Arthur  C.  Gilbert  says 
he  fed  a  young  bird  of  this  species  a  hundred  grasshoppers  in  one  day 
and  he  ate  them  all.  The  Philadelphia  Vireo  is  very  rare  and  has  been 
taken  but  once  in  this  State.  On  the  other  hand  the  Warbling  Vireo, 
which  the  Philadelphia  so  closely  resembles,  is  very  common  and  is 
the  most  sociable  bird  of  this  family.  Any  day  from  April  to  October 
this  little  gray  Vireo  may  be  heard  singing  a  most  pleasing  song  out 
among  our  orchard  trees  or  in  the  shade  trees  along  the  city  streets. 
Many  a  man  has  been  unconsciously  cheered  by  the  bright  song  of  this 
little  hidden  optimist.  The  food  of  this  species  is  made  up  almost  en- 
tirely of  the  insects  that  feed  on  the  leaves  of  trees.  The  Yellow- 
throated  Vireo  is  larger  than  some  of  the  others  and,  as  his  name  indi- 
cates, is  of  more  striking  colors.  This  species  is  a  superior  songster  and 
his  rich  contralto  voice  can  be  heard  from  far  away.  Like  the  Red-eye 
his  food  is  gathered  in  the  tops  of  forest  trees,  especially  the  oaks,  and 
among  the  shrubbery  in  woodlands  and  fields  of  second  growth.  The 
Blue-headed  Vireo  is  a  beautiful  bird  with  bright  grayish-blue  head  and 
white  eyerings.  It  is  only  a  migrant  here,  is  quite  rare  and  is  of  no 
particular  economic  value  in  this  section.  The  Mountain  Vireo  is  a 
southern  form  of  the  last  named  species.  It  reaches  its  northern  limit 
in  the  Alleghenies  of  western  Maryland  and  northern  West  Virginia.  I 
have  found  this  species  to  be  quite  common  in  the  mountains  of  our 
State.  Last  summer  Mr.  Orr  R.  King,  my  assistant,  found  this  species 
feeding  upon  the  fruit  of  the  red  elder  berry  and  service  berry  at  Pickens. 
Randolph  County.  The  last  species  on  this  list  of  Vireos  is  the  White- 
eyed  Vireo.  It  is  found  only  within  the  limits  of  the  Carolina  Life  Zone 
in  our  State,  that  is,  in  the  southern  parts  of  the  State  and  along  the 
Ohio,  Little  Kanawha,  Elk  and  Monongahela  Rivers,  up  to  an  altitude 
of  about  1,500  feet  above  sea  level.  The  White-eye  Is  most  common 
in  old  grown-up  fields  and  along  streams  that  are  bordered  with  shrub- 


(.0  FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS 

bery.     Like  the  other  Vlreos  it  is  largely  insectivorous  and  is  a  useful 
bird. 


FOOD  OF  WKST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS  Cl 


CHAPTER  X. 
THE   WARBLERS. 

Thirty-six  Species. 

Thirty-six  species  of  Warblers  have  been  recorded  from  West  Vir- 
ginia. \vuh  a  few  exceptions  these  are  all  birds  of  the  forest.  The 
Yellow  \Varbler  is  common  in  orchard  and  shade  trees,  the  Yellow- 
breasted  Chat  is  founa  out  in  old  fields,  the  Maryland  Yellow-throat  is  to 
be  seen  in  grassy  places  and  along  rivers  and  smaller  streams,  especially 
loving  a  swampy  region,  the  Golden-winged  Warbler  delights  in  a  field 
of  sassafras  and  blackberry  briers,  and  a  very  few  others  resort  to 
places  where  they  may  be  easily  seen,  but  most  of  these  small  and 
beautifully-colored  birds  find  their  favorite  haunts  in  the  woods  and 
many  of  them  keep  provokingly  high  up  in  the  tops  of  the  tallest  forest 
trees.  On  this  account  few  persons  know  of  the  presence,  beauty  and 
usefulness  of  this  large  family  of  birds.  Only  one,  the  Myrtle  or  Yellow- 
rumped  Warbler,  is  to  be  found  here  in  the  winter,  and  that  very  rarely. 
Many  remain  here  during  the  nesting  season  and  the  others  are  migrants, 
passing  us  in  the  spring  and  fall.  Practically  all  are  useful  species.  Just 
at  the  time  when  our  apple  and  other  fruit  trees  are  in  bloom,  and  for 
a  few  weeks  following,  almost  innumerable  hosts  of  these  small  birds 
feed  among  our  orchard  and  forest  trees.  Because  of  the  long  migration 
flights  these  birds  have  just  finished  or  are  in  process  of  making,  they 
are  very  hungry.  Their  food  consists  almost  entirely  of  small  insects, 
their  eggs,  larvae  and  pupae.  Coming  as  they  do  when  many  of  the 
harmful  caterpillars  are  just  emerging  from  the  egg  and  many  other 
species  of  insects  aie  beginning  their  spring  work  of  devastation 
among  the  forest  and  fruit  trees,  they  are  exceedingly  useful.  The 
Warblers  are  so  small  that  they  can  easily  go  to  the  extremities  of 
the  smallest  twigs  and  find  the  tiny  insects  among  the  buds,  small  leaves 
and  flowers.  Though  their  food  is  made  up  of  very  small  arboreal  in- 
sects, for  the  most  part,  they  are  none  the  less  useful.  Some  of  the 
smallest  insects  aie  most  harmful,  and  these  the  Warblers  destroy  by 
myriads. 

Systematic  Work. 

Concerning  the  feeding  habits  of  the  Warblers  Prof.  Forbush  has  said, 
"In  this  family  we  find  birds  that  assume  the  care  of  the  trees  from 
the  ground  to  the  topmost  twig.  Some  walk  daintily  along  the  ground, 
searching  among  the  shrubbery  and  fallen  leaves;  others  cling  close  to 
the  bark,  and  search  its  every  crevice  for  those  insignificant  insects 
which  collectively  form  the  greatest  pests  of  forest  and  orchard;  others 
mount  into  the  tree,  skip  from  branch  to  branch,  and  peer  about  among  the 
leaves  or  search  the  opening  buds  of  the  lower  branches;  others  habitu- 
ally ascend  to  the  tree  tops;  while  still  others  are  in  almost  constant 
pursuit  of  the  winged  insects  that  dart  about  among  the  branches."  The 
work  these  birds  do  in  policing  the  trees  is  surely  systematic.  By 


F<  :•!>    I'K     WHS  I      VlKCIMA     BlKDS 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS 


the  time  the  Warbler  hosts  have  passed  us  in  the  spring  practically 
every  bud,  leaf,  twig,  flower  and  incipient  fruit  has  been  carefully  in- 
spected and  rid  of  some  insect  enemy.  A  brief  study  of  a  few  of  our 
more  important  species  will  give  illustrations  of  how  this  work  is  done. 

Yellow  Warbler. 

The  Yellow  Warbler  or  "Summer  Yellow  Bird"  is  the  member  of 
this  family  that  is  recognized  perhaps  most  often.  From  the  last  days 
of  April  up  to  early  fall  this  little  yellow  bird  may  be  observed  singing 
and  hunting  insects  about  our  shade  trees,  along  the  willows  of  some 
stream  or  among  the  fruit  trees  in  orchard  or  yard.  The  male  is  a 
clear  lemon  yellow  with  orange-colored  stripes  <>n  his  breast,  while 
the  female  lacks  the  orange  stripes  and  has  more  of  an  olive  green 
tinge  to  her  plumage.  This  species  is  common  throughout  most  sections 
of  West  Virginia  and  should  be  appreciated  greatly  by  all  orchardists. 
It  feeds  on  many  of  the  worst  pests  that  attack  fruit  trees,  shade  trees, 
vines  and  berry  bushes,  and  destroys  great  numbers  of  small  caterpillars 
before  they  have  grown  to  a  really  destructive  size.  Among  the  insects 
destroyed  by  the  Yellow  Warbler  are  the  young  tent  caterpillars  and 
cankerworms,  bark  beetles,  weevils,  plant  lice,  codling  moth,  flies  and 
spiders.  Very  little  fruit  is  eaten  by  this  species,  though  I  have  ob- 
served them  taking  tiny  particles  of  the  fruit  of  the  mulberry. 

Cape  May  Warbler. 

The  Cape  May  Warbler  is  a  rather  inconspicuously  colored  little  bird 
that  passes  northward  in  the  spring  and  returns  in  the  fall.  As  they 
pass  going  each  way  great  numbers  of  these  birds  remain  with  us 
for  a  few  weeks,  especially  in  the  fall.  The  immense  numbers  of  these 
little  birds  reach  this  section  just  as  the  cultivated  grapes  are  in  their 
prime.  And  because  of  the  great  harm  they  sometimes  do  in  our  vine- 
yards they  are  chiefly  known.  The  Cape  May  Warbler,  at  times,  destroys 
great  quantities  of  this  fruit  by  puncturing  the  ripe  grapes  and  drinking 
the  sweet  juice.  After  the  grape  is  thus  punctured  by  the  birds  the  bees 
and  wasps  come  and  finish  the  work  of  destruction.  I  have  known  vine- 
yards of  considerable  size  here  in  West  Virginia  in  which  practically 
all  the  grapes  were  destroyed  by  these  birds.  Last  fall  (1915)  I  found 
these  small  brown  birds  feeding  upon  the  grapes  in  a  number  of  places 
within  our  State.  In  addition  to  grapes  I  have  found  these  birds  feed- 
ing upon  wild  black  cherries,  common  elder  berries,  poke  berries  and  the 
fruit  of  the  Fringe  Tree.  Last  fall  I  watched  several  trees  of  the  last 
named  species  and  noted  how  greedily  the  Cape  May  Wferblers  fed  on  the 
large  purple  drupes.  At  first  they  came  to  these  trees  and  ate  sparingly 
of  the  fruits,  but  as  they  ripened  the  birds  were  in  the  trees  practically 
all  the  time  till  the  last  vestige  of  fruit  was  gone.  The  cultivated  grapes 
seem  to  make  up  the  larger  part  of  the  food  of  these  birds  while  they 
are  here.  Mr.  Charles  Handley  informs  me  that  he  has  seen  this  species 
feeding  on  the  fruit  of  the  Virginia  Creeper  or  Five-leaved  Ivy.  I  suspect 


64  FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS 

that  as  a  fruit  destroyer  this  is  our  most  harmful  species.     No  doubt 
many  insects  are  destroyed  by  the  Cape  Mays. 

Black-throated  Green. 

Another  species  of  very  general  distribution  and  of  considerable  im- 
portance is  the  Black-throated  Green  Warbler.  The  name  itself  gives  a 
very  good  description  of  this  bird.  It  is  found  in  many  sections  of  our 
State  in  the  summer  and  almost  everywhere  during  the  two  migration 
seasons.  This  species  is  most  common  where  evergreen  forests  abound. 
As  an  enemy  of  forest  insects  this  bird  is  of  real  economic  worth.  It 
feeds  upon  small  caterpillars,  beetles,  etc.  Last  fall  it  was  observed  by 
Mr.  A.  B.  Brooks  eating  the  ripe  fruit  of  Hercules'  Club.  I  have  seen 
it  eating  the  fruit  of  other  wild  varieties. 

Myrtle  Warbler. 

The  Myrtle  Warbler  may  be  seen  in  large  numbers  during  the  fall 
migration,  occasionally  in  the  spring  as  it  passes  northward,  though 
migrating  rather  late  in  the  season  it  lingers  only  a  few  days  in  this 
latitude,  and  sometimes  in  the  winter.  For  several  years  a  few  Myrtle 
Warblers  have  spent  the  winter  at  Weston,  depending  upon  certain  wild 
fruits  for  food.  As  soon  as  these  birds  appear  in  the  fall  they  search 
out  places  where  great  quantities  of  poison  ivy  vines  grow.  On  the  dry 
grayish-brown  fruits  of  these  vines  the  birds  subsist  nearly  all  winter. 
I  have  seen  them  feeding  on  the  fruit  of  the  poison  ivy  a  great  number  of 
times,  and  this  fruit  seems  to  be  their  chief  food  during  the  fall  migra- 
tion season  and  in  the  winter  time.  No  doubt  some  other  kinds  of 
wild  fruit  are  eaten,  though  I  have  no  notes  to  indicate  this.  It  is 
said  that  they  eat  great  quantities  of  bayberries  where  these  grow. 
Dr.  Weed  has  made  a  special  study  of  the  autumn  food  of  this  species. 
He  found  that  they  fed  upon  caddis  flies,  various  insect  larvae,  beetles, 
plant  lice  and  their  eggs,  house  flies  and  other  diptera,  and  a  very  few 
hymenopterous  insects.  Prof.  Forbush  has  found  the  Myrtle  Warbler 
feeding  upon  the  woolly  apple  tree  aphis. 

General   Notes. 

In  this  brief  chapter  it  is  impossible  even  to  mention  all  the  species 
in  this  large  family.  Only  a  few  have  been  described.  These  are  among 
the  rvost  important  species,  yet  others  arfe  of  economic  value,  and  perhaps 
the  Warblers  do  far  more  for  the  preservation  of  trees  and  other  valu- 
able forms  of  plant  life  than  we  commonly  think.  It  is  evident  that  the 
Black-and-White  Warbler  eats  many  insects  that  feed  upon  the  trees 
over  which  these  small  creeping  birds  hunt  constantly.  The  great  num- 
ber of  species  that  feed  on  the  ground  or  near  the  ground  are  of  much 
value.  Among  these  are  the  Kentucky  Warbler,  the  Worm-eating 
Warbler,  the  Maryland  Yellow-throat,  the  Water-Thrush  and  the  Louisiana 
Water-Thrush,  the  Connecticut  Warbler,  Mourning  Warbler  and  Oven- 
bird.  Then,  too,  there  are  the  Chestnut-sided  Warbler,  the  Hooded 
Warbler,  Magnolia  Warbler,  Prairie  Warbler,  Wilson's  Warbler  and 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGI.MA  BIBDS  65 

Yellow-breasted  Chat  that  feed  largely  among  the  smaller  trees  and 
bushes.  There  are  also  the  tree-loving  Warblers  such  as  the  Blue-winged, 
Nashville,  Tennessee,  Cerulean,  Black-poll,  Bay-breasted,  Blackburnian, 
Pine  and  Redstart.  All  these  have  their  favorite  food  and  do  their 
great  part  in  the  preservation  of  our  forests.  I  have  made  records  on 
the  fruit-eating  habits  of  a  few  of  these  species,  though  most  of  them 
live  almost  altogether  on  insect  food.  The  Cape-May  Wfcrbler,  the  Ten- 
nessee Warbler,  the  Magnolia  Warbler  and  the  Black-throated  Blue 
Warbler  have  been  seen  eating  the  fruit  of  the  cultivated  grape.  I 
have  observed  the  Bay-breasted  Warbler  eating  the  fruit  of  the  Flowering 
Dogwood,  and  last  fall  I  saw  the  rare  Wilson's  Warbler  feeding  upon 
the  fruit  of  the  wild  black  cherry.  While  in  the  mountains  last  summer 
Orr  R.  King,  my  assistant,  saw  the  Magnolia  Warbler,  Cairn's  Warbler 
and  Maryland  Yellow-throat  feeding  upon  the  fruits  of  the  red  elder 
berry.  No  doubt  these  little  birds  do  a  great  service  in  sowing  broad- 
cast the  seeds  of  many  fruit-bearing  shrubs  and  trees  that  quickly  spring 
up  after  a  woodland  is  cut  over  or  burned  and  thus  aid  in  reforestation. 
Many  of  the  seeds  of  the  "Bird''  Cherry  or  wild  cherry  are  scattered 
by  the  Warblers.  I  have  seen  great  flocks  of  these  birds  feeding  on  the 
red,  insipid  fruit  of  these  trees.  Every  one  who  has  studied  forest  con- 
ditions in  West  Virginia  knows  how  important  is  the  part  of  this  species 
of  wild  cherry  in  the  reforesting  of  our  mountain  regions  now  so  rapidly 
being  stripped  of  their  immense  virgin  forests  by  fires,  lumbermen  and 
other  destructive  agencies.  If  for  nothing  else  than  their  great  worth 
as  seed  sowers  the  Warblers  should  be  protected. 


66  FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS 

CHAPTER  XI. 
THRASHERS,   WRENS,   KINGLETS,   NUTHATCHES   AND   TITMICE. 

A  Complex  Group. 

In  this  motley  array  and  somewhat  conglomerate  group  of  birds  we 
have  species  of  five  different  families  as  indicated  in  the  caption  of  this 
chapter.  In  this  part  of  the  country  these  five  families  are  represented 
by  but  few  species  and  they  can  not  be  described  in  separate  chapters. 
The  first  of  these  families  includes  the  Mockingbird,  Catbird  and  Brown 
Thrashers;  the  second  family  is  made  up  of  five  species,  the  Carolina 
Wren,  Bewick's  Wren,  House  Wren,  Winter  Wren  and  Long-billed  Marsh 
Wren;  the  third  family  includes  three  very  diminutive  species,  the  Golden- 
crowned  Kinglet,  Ruby-crowned  Kinglet  and  Blue-gray  Gnatcatcher;  the 
fourth  family  has  only  two  members  that  are  found  in  our  State,  the 
White-brested  Nuthatch  and  the  Red-breasted  Nuthatch,  while  the  last 
family  includes  the  three  Titmice,  Tufted  Titmouse,  Chickadee,  and 
Carolina  Chickadee.  Perhaps  there  should  also  be  included  in  this  group 
the  lone  representative  of  the  Creeper  family,  the  Brown  Creeper,  and  a 
few  other  rare  species  scarcely  ever  occurring  within  our  State.  As  may 
be  learned  by  observation  or  by  the  reading  of  this  chapter,  these  birds 
differ  greatly  in  the  appearance,  songs,  food,  nesting,  and  general  con- 
duct. In  the  following  paragraphs  a  short  account  of  these  families  will 
be  given. 

Mockingbird,    Catbird    and    Thrasher. 

The  first  family  includes  the  Mockingbird,  Catbird  and  Brown  Thrasher. 
The  Mockingbird  is  found  in  the  summer  time  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  State  and  in  the  valleys  east  of  the  mountains.  In  no  place  in  West 
Virginia  is  this  famous  bird  very  common,  and  in  many  sections  it  is 
not  found  at  all.  Last  summer  I  found  a  little  family  of  Mockingbirds  at 
Lewisburg  and  was  told  by  Mr.  Charles  O.  Handley  that  they  are  occasion- 
ally seen  in  that  section  at  almost  any  season  of  the  year.  I  was  greatly 
interested  in  seeing  them  feed  on  the  berries  of  an  early-ripe  species  of 
holly  that  is  found  in  great  abundance  in  the  frequent  depressions  in 
the  lime-stone  plateaus  of  that  section.  The  food  of  the  Mockingbird  is 
made  up  of  insects  and  fruit. 

The  most  common  member  of  this  family  is  the  well-known  Catbird. 
Its  onomatopoetic  notes  may  be  heard  almost  anywhere  from  the  lowest 
valley  to  the  highest  mountain  from  the  last  week  in  April  to  the  first 
week  in  October.  Its  distribution  is  general  throughout  the  State  and  its 
presence  adds  much  to  the  pleasure  of  out-door  life.  Our  Catbird  is  a 
near  relative  of  the  true  southern  Mockingbird  just  mentioned.  So 
well  do  all  our  teachers,  farmers  and  boys  and  girls  know  this  bird  that 
no  description  of  its  appearance  is  needed.  Its  food-habits,  however, 
should  be  studied  carefully.  In  some  places  the  Catbird  is  a  serious 
annoyance  to  fruit  growers.  About  one-half  of  the  food  of  the  Catbird 
consists  of  insects,  many  of  them  being  of  destructive  species,  while 


TUFTED   TITMOUSE 


Order— PASSERES 
Genus— B^OLOPHUS 


Family— PARID,E 
Species-Bicouoi 


National  Association  of  Audubon  Societies 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIBGINIA  BIBDS  67 

the  other  half  is  made  up  of  fruit,  one-third  of  which  is  of  the  cultivated 
varieties  such  as  cherries,  strawberries,  blackberries  and  raspberries. 
During  the  past  summer  I  have  found  these  birds  feeding  upon  sweet 
cherries,  sour  cherries,  wild  goose  plums,  raspberries,  currants  and 
strawberries.  Of  the  wild  fruits  I  have  seen  them  feeding  upon  at  least 
fifteen  varieties.  The  Catbird  is  very  fond  of  the  wild  mulberry  and  I 
have  seen  birds  make  as  many  as  twelve  trips  to  a  single  tree  within 
half  an  hour.  The  other  wild  fruits  upon  which  I  have  seen  the  Catbird 
feeding  are  the  wild  black  cherry,  holly,  service  berry,  blackberry, 
common  elder  berry,  red  elder  berry,  barberry,  sassafras,  frost  grape, 
flowering  dogwood,  silky  dogwood,  poke  berry,  Virginia  creeper,  and 
common  greenbrier.  In  most  cases  these  fruits  are  swallowed  whole  by 
the  Catbirds  and  the  seeds,  of  course,  are  scattered  far  and  near.  Con- 
sidering these  facts,  I  think  we  must  conclude  that  the  Catbird  is  our 
friend  rather  than  our  enemy  and  should  be  protected. 

The  Brown  Thrasher  is  a  large  brown  bird  with  speckled  breast. 
Sometimes  it  is  called  "Mockingbird"  in  certain  sections  of  our  State. 
The  name  is  not  inappropriate,  for  this  bird  is  as  truly  a  mocker  as  the 
far-famed  Mockingbird.  It  is  common  in  most  parts  of  West  Virginia 
but  rather  rare  in  the  mountains.  The  food  of  this  species  is  made  up 
of  fruits  of  various  kinds  and  insects.  A  few  of  the  insects  it  destroys 
are  beneficial  ones,  but  the  larger  part  of  them  are  harmful  ones.,  The 
Brown  Thrasher  has  been  accused  of  pulling  young  corn  stalks,  and  the 
charge  may  be  true.  It  is  well-known  that  some  cultivated  fruits  are 
destroyed  by  this  bird  and  that  occasionally  grain  is  eaten.  However 
as  Prof.  Beal  says,  "Taken  all  in  all,  the  Brown  Thrasher  is  a  useful 
bird". 

Wrens. 

The  Wren  family  is  exceedingly  interesting  because  of  the  friendly 
ways,  the  alert  dispositions  and  the  musical  ability  which  they  possess. 
Where  the  Wrens  abound  they  go  searching  through  every  cranny  and 
crevice  of  our  out-buildings,  along  fence-rows  and  in  the  thickets  and 
piles  of  logs  and  brush.  No  place  where  larvae  lurk  or  where  the  eggs 
or  pupae  of  insects  may  be  hidden  away  is  left  unexplored.  As  regards 
food  habits  all  the  Wrens  are  entirely  beneficial.  Of  our  five  species 
one,  the  large  Carolina  Wren,  remains  here  throughout  the  entire  year; 
two,  the  Bewick's  WSren  and  the  House  Wren,  are  summer  residents; 
one,  the  Winter  Wren,  comes  only  in  the  winter  in  most  sections  of  the 
State,  though  in  the  higher  mountain  regions  it  remains  throughout  the 
year,  while  the  remaining  species,  the  Long-billed  Marsh  Wren,  is  so 
rare  that  it  need  not  be  discussed  at  all.  East  of  the  Alleghenies  the 
House  Wren  is  most  common  and  west  of  the  mountains  the  Bewick's 
Wren  is  the  prevailing  species.  All  these  Wrens  are  insect  eaters  and 
should  be  protected  most  carefully. 

Nuthatches. 
We  have  two  species  of  birds  that  spend  their  entire  time  exploring 


G8  FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS 

the  tree  trunks  in  search  of  various  forms  of  insect  life  that  are  hidden 
away  under  the  edges  of  the  bark.  These  are  the  White-breasted  and 
the  Red-breasted  Nuthatch.  The  former  is  very  common  and  the  latter 
quite  rare.  Sometimes  these  little  birds  are  called  "Sapsuckers,"  but 
the  name  is  incorrect.  Some  of  the  insects  upon  which  they  feed  are 
extremely  harmful.  It  is  a  well  established  fact  that  they  destroy  great 
numbers  of  insects  that  are  harmful  to  our  forests  and  orchards.  The 
diet  is  varied,  now  and  then,  with  a  few  nuts,  weed-seeds,  grains,  and 
fruits,  though,  for  the  most  part,  the  food  is  made  up  of  harmful  insects. 

Titmice. 

Like  the  Nuthatches  the  Titmice  search  assiduously  among  the 
branches  and  along  the  trunks  of  trees  for  insects  that  may  be  found 
in  such  places.  All  three  species,  the  Carolina  Chickadee,  the  Black- 
capped  Chickadee  and  the  Tufted  Titmouse,  are  entirely  beneficial  and 
no  harmful  act  can  be  charged  against  them.  They  are  small  birds  and 
the  Carolina  Chickadee  and  the  Tufted  Titmouse  are  very  common  in 
most  parts  of  the  State.  High  up  in  the  mountains  the  other  Chickadee 
is  found.  Usually  the  two  more  common  species  are  to  be  found  in 
great  numbers  in  any  locality  and  with  their  watchful  eyes  they  seek 
out  many  an  insect  and  destroy  it.  The  character  of  the  food  of  these 
little  birds  gives  a  peculiar  value  to  their  services,  for  it  consists  largely 
of  very  small  insects  or  eggs  which  the  larger  birds  pass  by  unnoticed. 
I  believe  the  Tufted  Titmouse  is  one  of  our  most  beneficial  woodland 
birds. 

Gnatcatcher  and  Kinglets. 

The  Kinglets  and  the  Blue-gray  Gnatcatchers  are  exceedingly  small 
birds  and  their  diminutive  size  causes  us  to  know  very  little  of  them. 
All  three  species  live  almost  entirely  on  diminutive  insects,  such  as 
hide  away  among  the  leaves  and  leaf  buds  where  other  birds  do  not 
find  them.  The  Blue-gray  Gnatcatcher  is  to  be  found  here  throughout 
the  summer,  is  very  common  and  may  be  called  a  useful  species.  The 
Ruby-crowned  Kinglet  is  a  migrant  and  is  to  be  seen  only  in  spring  and 
fall  as  it  passes  on  its  semi-annual  migration  flights.  The  Golden-crested 
Kinglet  remains  in  most  sections  of  the  State  throughout  the  winter, 
but  is  to  be  found  in  summer  time  high  up  in  the  mountains.  The  King- 
lets are  very  useful  birds  because  of  the  large  number  of  tiny  insects 
which  they  destroy. 

Special  Value. 

All  the  birds  mentioned  in  this  chapter  are  characterized  by  their 
unusual  activity  and  their  persistence  in  searching  for  their  insect 
food.  They  go  into  many  a  hidden  place  where  other  birds  do  not  usually 
venture.  In  this  way  insects  are  killed  that  otherwise  would  escape. 
Of  particular  value  are  the  Nuthatches  and  Titmice  because  of  their 
diligent  search  for  such  insects  as  are  harmful  to  our  forests. 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS 


C9 


70  FOOD  or  WEST  VIBGINIA  BIBDS 

CHAPTER  XII. 
THE   THRUSHES. 

Family    Characteristics. 

This  last  grtfup,  which  we  have  undertaken  to  study,  includes  the 
most  perfectly  developed  forms  of  bird  life,  the  Thrushes.  In  beauty 
of  song,  in  graceful  bearing  and  in  perfection  of  structure  these  birds  are 
entitled  to  their  place  at  the  top  of  the  list.  In  their  food-habits,  too, 
they  are  of  very  marked  importance  as  may  be  noted  in  our  detailed  study 
of  the  family.  About  six  hundred  species,  distributed  throughout  many 
parts  of  the  world,  belong  to  this  well-known  family.  Of  these  about 
twelve  are  found  in  the  United  States  and  six  have  been  recorded  from 
West  Virginia.  The  members  of  this  group  are  well  and .  favorably 
known.  Perhaps  no  other  group  of  birds  contains  species  so  well 
loved  and  so  fervently  admired  as  the  Thrushes.  In  this  family  are  in- 
cluded the  Mavis  or  Throstle  and  the  Blackbird  or  Merle  of  Europe  and 
our  own  Robin  and  Bluebird.  All  these  are  well  known  in  the  places 
where  they  are  to  be  found  and  are  greatly  admired  because  of  their 
musical  ability.  Some  are  very  retiring  in  habits  and  are  rarely  found 
outside  the  deep  forests.  Others  are  very  familiar  and  may  be  seen  in 
great  numbers  about  our  homes.  The  Robin  is  one  of  our  best  known 
species  and  comes  with  utmost  freedom  to  any  favorite  feeding  place 
in  garden,  orchard  or  lawn.  The  Bluebird  is  not  at  all  shy  in  some 
sections  and  we  rejoice  to  know  that  this  beautiful  species  is  still  quite 
abundant  in  many  parts  of  our  State.  In  some  of  our  larger  towns  and 
cities  the  Wood  Thrush  is  also  quite  tame  and  may  be  seen  feeding  and 
singing  freely  about  the  yards  and  wardens.  Especially  is  this  true  of 
Charleston,  Morgantown  and  Fairmoiu  The  other  Thrushes  are  wary 
and  are  rarely  observed  unless  one  goes  to  their  haunts  in  the  woods. 

I 
List  of  Our  Species. 

The  six  species  listed  in  West  Virginia  are  the  Wood  Thrush  (Hylo- 
cichia  mustelina),  Veery  or  Wilson's  Thrush  (Hylocichla  fuscescens 
fuscescens),  Olive-backed  Thrush  (Hylocichla  ustulata  suxiinsoni),  Hermit 
Thrush  (Hylocichla  guttata.  pallasi),  Robin  (Plancsticus  migratorius) 
and  the  Bluebird  (Sialia  sialis  sialis).  Two  of  these  are  very  readily 
distinguished  the  one  from  the  other.  It  is  a  part  of  the  common 
knowledge  of  almost  every  boy  and  girl  in  West  Virginia  to  be  able  to 
identify  the  Robin  and  the  Bluebird  at  sight.  The  brickred-breasts  of  these 
two  birds,  the  azure  blue  of  the  back  of  one  and  the  familiar  colors 
of  the  other  serve  to  make  these  two  familiar  to  all  of  us.  But  the 
other  Thrushes  are  not  so  readily  distinguished.  All  four  are  brown  on 
their  backs  and  all  four  have  speckled  breasts.  To  add  to  this  con- 
fusion the  Brown  Thrasher,  described  in  the  last  chapter  is  similar  in 
its  color  pattern,  and  other  species  are  of  like  coloration.  One  or  two 
simple  rules  will  help  greatly  in  the  identification  of  these  birds.  All 
are  about  the  size  of  a  Robin  or  a  little  less.  On  the  backs  of  these  four 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIBGINIA  BIKDS 


Thrushes  two  shades  of  brown  are  to  be  noted.  One  is  a  deep,  rich, 
russet  brown  while  the  other  is  a  far  duller  olive  brown.  The  Wood 
Thrush  has  the  brighter  shade  of  brown  on  its  head  and  the  duller 
shade  on  its  lower  back  and  tail;  the  Hermit  Thrush  is  exactly  the 
reverse  in  color  arrangement  having  the  brighter  shade  on  its  tail; 
the  Veery  has  the  russet  brown,  or  brighter  shade  over  its  entire  upper 
parts,  while  the  Olive-backed  Thrush,  as  its  name  indicates,  is  char- 
acterized by  an  olive-green  back.-  There  are  other  differences,  but  the 
one  just  pointed  will  help  greatly  in  the  identification  of  the  species. 
Of  the  four  the  Wood  Thrush  is  most  common  in  nearly  all  sections 
of  the  State.  As  a  vocalist  it  has  few,  if  any,  superiors.  I  shall  never 
forget  my  experience  with  these  birds  in  certain  localities  in  interior 
West  Virginia.  In  the  evening,  early  morning  and  on  cloudy  days  these 
birds  sing  such  songs  as  one  can  never  forget.  The  Veery  is  highly 
accomplished  as  a  songster  and  makes  wild,  sweet  music  in  our  mountain 
woodlands  where  this  species  may  be  found  in  the  summer  time.  In 
most  sections  of  the  State  the  Veery  occurs  only  as  a  migrant.  The 
Olive-backed  Thrush  sings  a  very  strange  song,  and  few  have  been  able 
to  hear  it  in  the  medley  of  song  during  the  migration  days  of  late  spring 
when  this  species  passes  northward  or  on  toward  the  higher  Alleghenies 
where  it  occasionally  nests.  I  have  seen  two  nests  of  this  obscure  species 
in  West  Virginia.  One  was  on  the  top  of  Spruce  Knob  in  Pendleton 
County  and  the  other  was  on  Shaver's  Mountain  in  Randolph.  Altogether 
the  Olive-back,  though  very  common  in  migration  season,  is  a  stranger 
to  most  of  us.  The  remaining  member  of  this  quartet  of  Thrushes  is, 
by  some,  claimed  to  be  the  most  musical  of  all.  We  have  the  Hermit 
Thrush  only  as  a  migrant  or  rare  winter  visitor.  A  few  times  I  have 
found  this  species  in  mid-winter,  but  usually  see  it  only  in  the  latter 
days  of  March  or  up  to  the  middle  of  April,  when  it  passes  quietly  north- 
ward, stopping  for  a  few  days  in  our  leafless  woods  to  gather  a  few 
early  insects. 

Their  Food. 

Some  members  of  the  family  are  very  important  economically.  All 
do  some  service,  though  two  or  three  of  them  are  of  no  very  great 
value  except  from  an  esthetic  standpoint  The  food  of  the  Thrushes 
consists  almost  entirely  of  insects  and  fruit.  Some  of  the  species,  the 
Robin  and  Wood  Thrush,  for  instance,  are  particularly  fond  of  certain 
kinds  of  fruit  and,  at  times,  become  quite  destructive  to  valuable  varieties. 
However,  they  more  than  atone  for  all  the  harm  done  by  the  great 
number  of  insects  destroyed.  The  four  brown  Thrushes,  the  Wood 
Thrush,  Olive-backed  Thrush,  Hermit  Thrush  and  Veery,  are  distinc- 
tively birds  of  the  forest.  All  excepting  the  first,  the  Wood  Thrush, 
spend  practically  all  their  time  in  the  deep  forests  and  there  they  gather 
their  food.  The  Wood  Thrush  is,  for  the  most  part,  a  forest-loving 
species  and  is  usually  just  as  wild  as  the  others.  So -it  may  be  said 
that  these  four  species  gather  their  food  in  the  woods  and  are  of  value 
in  their  destruction  of  insects  that  feed  on  forest  vegetation.  They,  of 
course,  destroy  some  wild  fruits  and  occasionally  come  out  of  the  forest 


FOOD  OF   WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS 


to  feast  on  the  more  tempting  cultivated  varieties.  In  our  detailed  study 
of  the  Robin  and  Wood  Thrush  the  economic  value  of  the  Thrushes  will 
appear. 

The  Wood  Thrush. 

In  the  first  place,  as  a  representative  of  this  group  or  family,  we 
shall  study  the  Wood  Thrush.  There  is  scarcely  a  place  in  West  Vir- 
ginia where  this  fine  songster  is  not  to  be  found.  Indeed  I  do  not  recall 
a  single  locality  that  I  have  visited  wherein  the  Wood  Thrush  was  a 
stranger.  When  I  climbed,  a  few  years  ago,  to  the  top  of  Spruce  Knob 
I  found  it  there;  along  the  lower  river  bottoms  it  is  by  no  means  rare; 
and  throughout  the  hilly  interior  sections  it  is  in  many  places  quite 
abundant.  The  general  range  of  the  Wood  Thrush  includes  all  the  east- 
ern part  of  the  United  States.  During  the  summer  time  it  is  found 
from  Ontario  and  the  northern  New  England  States  west  to  the  Dakotas. 
and  Texas  and  south  to  northern  Florida;  in  winter  it  is  to  be  found  in 
southern  Mexico  and  the  Central  American  states.  As  has  been  said^ 
it  is  common  in  practically  every  part  of  West  Virginia. 

Food  of  the  Wood  Thrush. 

Though  much  might  be  said  in  regard  to  the  song,  nesting-habits  and 
general  habits  of  this  bird  only  its  food  can  be  discussed  here.  As  is 
true  with  all  our  Thrushes  the  food  of  this  species  consists  of  fruit  and 
insects.  In  recent  investigations  made  by  the  Biological  Survey,  U.  S. 
Department  of  Agriculture,  169  stomachs  of  this  species  were  examined 
and  their  contents  studied.  These  birds  were  killed  in  the  eastern  part 
of  the  United  States  and  were  taken  from  April  to  October.  It  was  found 
that  about  60%  of  the  food  of  these  birds  consisted  of  animal  matter, 
mostly  insects,  while  the  remaining  40%  was  of  vegetable  matter  being 
made  up  mostly  of  fruits  of  various  kinds.  Among  the  insects  were 
forty-six  different  species  including  such  harmful  ones  as  the  May- 
beetle,  snout  beetles  or  weevils,  click-beetles  and  the  Colorado  potato 
beetle.  A  few  useful  insects  were  found.  In  addition  to  the  large 
number  of  beetles  eaten  by  this  species  many  caterpillars  enter  inta 
this  bird's  summer  diet.  Prof.  F.  E.  L.  Beal  says  that  ants  seem  to 
be  a  rather  favorite  food  with  all  the  birds  of  the  genus  HylocicMa  and 
his  investigations  lead  him  to  say  that  almost  9%  of  the  entire  food 
of  the  Wood  Thrush  consists  of  ants  of  various  kinds.  Flies,  bugs,  spiders, 
thousandlegs,  snails  and  earthworms  are  also  eaten.  Surely  it  must 
be  true  that  great  numbers  of  insects  that  destroy  the  foliage  of  shrubs 
and  trees  are  destroyed  by  this  bird  and  its  hungry  young  during  the 
summer  season.  The  fruit-eating  habits  of  this  species  are  very  inter- 
esting. In  the  stomachs  mentioned  above  Prof.  Beal  and  his  assistants 
found  about  25  kinds  of  wild  fruit.  His  conclusions  lead  him  to  say 
that  of  the  40%  of  vegetable  matter  making  up  the  stomach-contents  of 
these  birds  more  than  nine-tenths  was  fruit,  mostly  of  wild  varieties. 
Prof.  Beal  says,  "Cultivated  fruit,  or  what  was  thought  to  be  such,  was 
found  in  stomachs  taken  from  June  to  September,  inclusive.  It  was 


FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIBDS  73 

eaten  regularly  and  moderately,  and  the  total  for  the  season  was  3.74 
per  cent  of  the  whole  food."  In  my  own  observations  on  the  fruit-eating 
habits  of  this  species  I  have  found  that  it  is  not  so  fond  of  certain  kinds 
of  wild  fruits  as  many  of  our  birds  are.  In,  June  and  July  of  the  past 
summer  this  species  was  observed  eating  raspberries  at  French  Creek, 
and  at  Philippi;  on  July  20,  21,  it  was  observed  feeding  freely  upon  the 
fruit  of  the  wild  mulberry. 

The  Robin. 

The  Robin  is  another  one  of  our  Thrushes  that  is  of  very  great 
economic  importance.  In  the  spring  and  fall  this  well-known  bird  is 
found  in  great  numbers  as  the  large  flocks  of  migrants  pass  us  by  going 
to,  and  coming  from,  their  northern  nesting  grounds.  Large  numbers 
remain  here  in  the  summer  to  breed,  and  may  be  said  to  be  one  of  our 
most  common  summer  birds.  A  few  are  to  be  found  in  the  winter  and 
occasionally  very  large  flocks  are  seen  in  the  very  coldest  parts  of 
the  year.  Last  year  (1914-1915)  immense  numbers  of  these  birds  spent 
the  winter  at  Beckley,  Raleigh  County.  In  a  letter  from  Dr.  U.  G. 
Cook  I  find  this  important  information,  as  set  forth  in  the  following 
quotation  from  him.  "I  do  not  think  it  an  exaggeration  to  say  that 
a  million  Robins  roost  among  the  pines  that  are  on  the  outskirts  of  Beck- 
ley.  As  the  snow  clears  away  they  come  down  in  innumerable  flocks  upon 
the  bare  ground  seeking  food."  Though  usually  rare  in  winter,  the  Robin 
is  with  us  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year  and  his  place  in  the 
economy  of  nature  is  set  forth  in  the  following  notes  in  regard  to  his 
food. 

The  Food  of  the  Robin. 

The  appetites  of  Robins  seems  to  be  especially  good  and  they  devour 
great  quantities  of  insect  and  vegetable  food.  I  have  seen  Robins 
eat  until  they  seemed  to  be  stupid  from  their  gluttony.  At  times  they 
eat  certain  varieties  of  wild  fruit  in  great  quantities.  So  freely  do  they 
feed  upon  the  first-ripe  sweet  cherries  that  their  seputations  are  frequently 
ruined  among  fruit-growers  and  some  of  these  valuable  and  beautiful 
birds  are  killed  in  consequence.  But  just  as  voraciously  as  they  feed 
upon  our  early  sweet  cherries  so  do  they  feed  upon  certain  of  our  harm- 
ful insects.  It  has  been  determined  that  the  insect  food  of  the  Robin 
constitutes  about  42%  of  the  total  food.  This  42%  is  made  up  as  follows: 
Beetles,  19%;  Grasshoppers,  10%;  Caterpillars,  6%;  and  other  insects, 
7%.  Some  of  the  insects,  though  very  few,  which  the  Robin  eats,  are 
beneficial.  It  is  safe  to  say,  however,  that  about  one-third  of  the  entire 
food  of  this  familiar  Thrush  is  made  up  of  harmful  insects. 

About  4%  of  the  Robin's  food  is  cultivated  fruit,  and  about  47'% 
consists  of  wild  fruits  of  many  kinds.  During  the  past  summer  I  have 
found  this  bird  feeding  upon  the  following  wild  varieties  of  fruit: — Wild 
Mulberry,  Service-berry,  Blackberry,  Red  Elderberry,  Bird  Cherry, 
Ilex  mollis  (Holly),  Common  Elderberry,  Pokeberry,  Flowering  Dog- 
wood, Virginia  Creeper,  Mountain  Ash,  Black  Haw,  Black  Gum  and 


74  FOOD  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA  BIRDS 

Wild  Black  Cherry.  At  times  Robins  come  in  great  numbers  to  certain 
kinds  of  wild  fruit  trees  that  are  specially  to  their  liking.  At  one  time 
last  summer  my  assistant  noted  twenty-three  visits  made  by  Robins  to 
one  mulberry  tree  in  two  and  one-half  hours.  More  than  forty  kinds  of 
wild  fruits  are  known  to  be  eaten  by  these  birds.  Of  course  they  act 
as  distributors  of  the  seeds  of  these  species  of  fruit-bearing  trees  and 
greatly  aid  in  the  reforesting  of  burnt-over  or  cut-over  areas.  Among 
the  cultivated  fruits  I  have  noticed  these  birds  feeding  upon  sweet  cher- 
ries, sour  cherries,  raspberries,  currants,  strawberries,  and  wild  goose 
plums.  Only  the  early  fruits  are  harmed  to  an  injurious  extent.  Some 
very  early  sweet  cherries  are  eaten  with  great  avidity  and  occasionally 
a  whole  crop  is  practically  destroyed  by  the  fruit-loving  species  of  birds, 
though  the  Robins  are  not  guilty  of  all  the  harm  done. 

Summary. 

I  think  that  no  one  who  has  heard  a  Robin  sing  early  in  the  morning 
or  has  seen  a  Hermit  Thrush  in  the  woods  in  April  or  has  visited  the 
hounts  of  the  Veery,  found  the  interesting  nest  of  a  Bluebird  or  studied 
any  of  the  habits  of  these  Thrushes  could  be  in  favor  of  killing  one  of 
them.  Xo  family  of  birds  is  more  in  the  poplar  favor  than  these.  They 
are  the  friends  of  the  farmer  and  the  enjoyable  companions  of  every 
one  who  takes  a  walk  in  the  deep  woods,  along  a  country  roadside, 
through  the  old  home  orchard  or  far  up  in  the  mountains.  These 
Thrushes  add  much  to  the  joy  of  life  and  help  us  greatly  in  our  never- 
ceasing  conflict  with  the  enemies  of  our  fields,  gardens  and  forests,  the 
innumerable  hordes  of  insects. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


Form  L9 — 15m-10,'48(B1039)444 


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000872406     4 


